HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd. () opened a wealth management centre in Taipei on Friday and expects to add centres in Taichung and Taoyuan the following year as it works to expand its wealth management division despite rising interest rates.
According to HSBC Taiwan, the development of the new wealth management centres would set the bank back roughly NT$100 million (US$3.3 million), and the bank will continue to invest in personnel, service platforms, and financial technology.
Nuno Matos, chief executive of HSBC Holdings PLC's wealth and personal banking, stated at a news conference in Taipei that the company is "totally committed" to Taiwan since it is a significant market in Asia and that the company aims to be the top wealth management bank there.
About 10% of Asian consumers are high-net-worth individuals, according to him.
The number of high-net-worth clients at HSBC Taiwan increased by 40% from the previous year, while the bank's assets under management increased by 22%, according to Matos, who noted that the wealth management client base in Asia doubled year over year.
As a result of the erratic financial markets and rate hikes by international central banks, many local banks' wealth management divisions have reported declining net fee incomes. However, according to company data, HSBC Taiwan's pre-tax profit from wealth management and personal banking increased by 70% annually for the first half of this year.
According to Matos, HSBC was able to maintain positive growth because it increased its market share by offering comprehensive goods and specialised services.
The monetary tightening has had a weaker effect on the markets since Taiwan's central bank has implemented lower interest rate hikes than those of its international counterparts, he continued.
The central bank increased its benchmark interest rates by 12.5 basis points, making this the fourth quarter in a row that rates have been lifted. While the US Federal Reserve increased rates by 425 basis points since March, the bank has increased rates by only 62.5 basis points since then.
Through the following year, Matos predicted that HSBC Taiwan's business performance would increase significantly.