HSBC has relaunched its Premier wealth banking brand in Britain, targeting so-called ultra-wealthy clients who have between 100,000 and 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) to invest.
Jose Carvalho, head of wealth and personal banking at HSBC in the UK, told Reuters that Premier’s fee-free product will offer 24-hour customer service, financial planning tools, as well as travel, international transaction and lifestyle benefits.
Reuters reported in August that HSBC aims to double assets under management in its British wealth business to 100 billion pounds ($126 billion) in the next five years.
Carvalho said the relaunch of Premier joins similar rollouts in Hong Kong and Singapore, where HSBC plans to eventually offer the new services around the world.
“We believe there is significant growth for us in this segment from the 16.5 million customers in Britain, which is expected to grow to approximately 18 million customers within two or three years,” Carvalho added.
In his first interview since HSBC’s new CEO George Al-Hudairi took office in September, he said that HSBC’s current market share among these clients is only about one million clients.
Carvalho confirmed that HSBC plans to open a new major wealth center next year in the wealthy Mayfair district of London, adding that HSBC will recover the costs of investing in Premier over time, as its clients purchase more products such as wealth management services. Mortgage and credit cards.
Rival banks including Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds (LON:LLOY) have signaled similar aspirations to grow wealth management, as banks around the world seek to increase fee income to compensate for shrinking revenue from loans as global interest rates fall.
However, HSBC has ruled out charging a fee for the product, Carvalho said, confirming media reports that the bank is hiring hundreds of new relationship managers for the relaunch.
HSBC’s push into British wealth banking, targeting particularly internationally minded clients who want around-the-clock service wherever they are as well as travel and other perks, plays a role in the bank’s broader strategy, Carvalho said.
Al-Hudayri seeks a major restructuring of HSBC into four divisions and a geographic revamp along east-west lines.
The reorganization is expected to result in hundreds of middle management layoffs, and cuts will likely be announced before the end of the year, according to recent media reports.
