The challenge each year is finding a reason not to give HSBC the top private banking honours in Hong Kong yet again: But the reality is that no one else comes close to rivalling an institution with 156 years of robust history in the local market.
During that time, and particularly in the 24 years since the city reverted to Chinese hands, HSBC’s place at the centre of Hong Kong’s high and ultra high net worth families – and those aspiring to join them – has only grown.
Despite the chaos caused by the pandemic, HSBC’s private banking division in Hong Kong saw a 15% jump in client assets last year, a 6% increase, year on year, in net new money and a 35% surge in brokerage and trading revenues.
These were impressive numbers, coming not only during a health crisis but also a broad restructuring of the bank’s business. In September, HSBC picked Annabel Spring as its global chief executive of wealth and private banking. That was part of a move earlier last year to merge global private banking and retail banking into a new growth unit that covers all different facets of private wealth, from retail customers to ultra high net worth clients.