Winners rationale

HSBC Private Banking is one of the few banks with the ability to deploy the wide range of banking and external professional services that are required to deliver a highly customised and holistic roadmap for wealthy families’ succession planning.

Following the transformation in 2019 to improve the alignment of the Private Wealth Solutions team with the global private bank, HSBC Private Banking took a further step in 2020 to integrate the wealth planning and advisory teams into the bank’s global private bank client coverage model, focusing its resources on servicing UHNW families with a view to achieving a more sustainable growth of the business.

Built on its strong institutional trustee platform, the bank’s wealth planning service offering has been transformed into a suite of highly bespoke advisory solutions under four aspects — wealth and estate planning, family office, family governance and philanthropy — while still enjoying the independence to work with professionals, advisors and investment managers of the clients’ choice.

The progress made by the bank resulted in double-digit growth in AUM and AUA (asset under administration), and high single-digit growth in the overall revenue generated by wealth planning services. Given the market volatility in 2020 and the economic impact from the global pandemic, the growth in revenue related to liquidity planning tools was especially impressive — a reflection of the vibrant client activities and strong trust between the bank and clients, despite the prevailing social distancing measures.

In view of the limited availability of in-person meetings, client engagement was maintained by hosting over 20 webinars and virtual/hybrid events. In addition, HSBC Private Banking organised a hackathon, called Mind Matters, making the most of its network to provide clients, prospects and NGOs with opportunities to create impactful social and environmental change in their communities, by increasing awareness about mental well-being and addressing mental health needs in Hong Kong.

To ensure compliance with the latest regulatory developments, HSBC Private Banking engaged in a dynamic conversation with regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore, forwarding them clients’ enquiries on specific regulatory issues (especially regarding the establishment of family offices) while giving feedback to the authorities about the development of the trust and family offices landscapes.

In 2020, the wealth planning and advisory team created customised solutions, drawing on the strength of expertise from private banking, commercial banking and independent tax advisors across two jurisdictions. The team arranged an international connectivity team, while creating a tailor-made philanthropic strategy for family offices in view of their existing trust structures. This illustrates how the restructuring at HSBC has engendered closer collaboration among different teams and has broken down the types of bespoke advisory solutions, resulting in the better identification and resolution of the unique concerns of UHNW families.

Trusted by UHNWs in Asia for over seven decades, HSBC Private Banking in 2020 demonstrated the ability to connect the dots in wealthy families’ succession journeys and meet the evolving needs of clients by making its service model more effective and agile.

HSBC Private Banking is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Wealth Planning Services for 2020.