HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (滙豐台灣商銀) on Friday launched a wealth management center in Taipei, and plans to open centers in Taichung and Taoyuan next year, as the bank aims to grow its wealth management business, despite interest rate increases.
The establishment of the new wealth management centers is estimated to cost the bank about NT$100 million (US$3.3 million), HSBC Taiwan said, adding that it would continue investing in employees, service platforms and financial technology.
“We are fully committed to Taiwan, as it is an important market in Asia and we aim to be the leading wealth management bank,” HSBC Holdings PLC wealth and personal banking chief executive Nuno Matos told a news conference in Taipei on Friday.
Photo: CNA
“Taiwan’s high-net-worth customers make up about 10 percent of Taiwan's population,” he said.
The wealth management client base in Asia showed twofold growth year-on-year last year, and the number of HSBC Taiwan’s high-net-worth clients grew 40 percent, while its assets under management rose 22 percent from a year earlier, Matos said.
While many local banks’ wealth management businesses have reported decreasing net fee incomes in light of volatile financial markets amid global central banks’ rate hikes, HSBC Taiwan saw its pre-tax profit from wealth management and personal banking increase by 70 percent annually for the first half of this year, company data showed.
HSBC managed to sustain positive growth, as it has gained a larger market share by providing comprehensive products and customized services, Matos said.
As the interest rate hikes adopted by Taiwan’s central bank are softer than those of its global peers, the monetary tightening has had a milder impact on the markets, he added.
The central bank on Thursday raised its key interest rates by 12.5 basis points, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of rate hikes. Since March, the bank has raised rates by 62.5 basis points, while the US Federal Reserve has boosted rates by 425 basis points.
HSBC Taiwan is expected to show strong growth in business performance through next year, Matos said.
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