Banks woo rising number of multimillionaires
FILE PHOTO: A branch of HSBC bank is seen, in central London, Britain, August 3, 2009. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
With a growing population of multimillionaires in the Philippines, HSBC Philippines has set up a new wealth management business in the country to offer investment opportunities for those who have at least P3 million in assets.
At the same time, Security Bank Corp.’s trust and asset management group has added three new unit investment trust funds (UITFs) into its offerings to encourage more Filipinos to invest and diversify their financial portfolios.
Sandeep Upal, president and chief executive of HSBC Philippines, said in a briefing on Wednesday the incorporation of HSBC Investment and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. (HIIB or HSBC Wealth) was timely given that rising wealth is observed through increasing bank deposits and investments on securities in the Philippines.
“But more than that, we set up HSBC Wealth based on a long-term view about opportunities in the Philippine market,” Uppal said.
The CEO added that HSBC was looking forward to the next 50 to 100 years, having operated in the Philippines over the past 147 years, or since 1875.
Singapore-based James Cheo, chief investment officer in Southeast Asia at HSBC Private Banking and Wealth, said the Philippines has one of the most favorable demographics in the region.
Citing an HSBC research report penned by HSBC Asia chief economist Fred Neumann, Cheo said economies that are growing rapidly such as that of the Philippines tend to accumulate wealth faster.
“And this is why the number of Filipino multimillionaires is expected to more than double by 2030,” he added.
In his report, Neumann said the number of adults in the Philippines with wealth of at least $250,000 or about P14.3 million was expected to increase from 1.6 million in 2021 to 2.7 million in 2025, and reach 8.1 million by 2035.
Even then, HSBC Wealth vice chair Peter Faulhaber said the new subsidiary caters to the bank’s premier customers, any of whom has assets worth at least P3 million or anyone who can commit to entrusting to HSBC at least P300,000 a month.
“We’ve seen a growing customer base in the past few years and we want to double the number of our premier customers,” Faulhaber said. “To do this, we need to have products ready on the shelf.”
