Hong Kong

When a financial institution can claim to provide private banking services to more than half of the billionaires on the Forbes Hong Kong rich list, you know it is doing well.

It’s easy to forget how long Citi has been in Asia and how deep its roots go. Its direct forerunner, The National City Bank of New York, opened its inaugural Hong Kong office in 1902.

Piyush Gupta has transformed Singapore’s DBS Group since his arrival as chief executive in 2009. Its regional wealth management business has flourished, while a hefty investment in technology has paid off handsomely. The lender has also become a regional leader in small and medium-sized enterprise banking, providing world-class financial services to firms ranging from sole proprietors to medium-sized firms with annual revenues of up to S$200 million ($150 million).

Bank of China (Hong Kong) is one of just three commercial lenders allowed to issue bank notes denominated in Hong Kong dollars. Since its consolidation as a single entity in 2001, it has become a mainstay of the local financial system. It’s current vice-chair and chief executive is Yingxin Gao.

Excellence in digital banking is not easy. Many lenders struggle to adapt to an era where everyone is online, but where some customers still covet the personal touch.

Bank of China, the most international of Beijing’s big-four state lenders, put down an important marker in 1998 when it founded BOC International. While wholly owned by its parent, the outfit was based in Hong Kong and international in nature and focus.

Hang Seng Bank is in no doubt what it is here for and who it serves – no small fact in an age when many lenders struggle for a sense of identity and direction.

Competitors have been quick to delight in the travails of UBS’s Asian investment bank, notably its decline in the league tables and a revolving door at senior management level. A ban imposed by Hong Kong’s regulator is the latest stick with which to beat the Swiss bank. But UBS’s regional leadership remains bullish – not least thanks to the power of its private bank.