HSBC launches private banking arm in Thailand

HSBC has announced it is opening a HNWI private banking service in Thailand.

The Asia-focused, British-headquartered, bank said its new service will enable clients to better access international capital markets and the bank's worldwide services.

Philip Kunz, HSBC's head of global private banking for South-East Asia, said this morning, "In Thailand and across Asia, private wealth is often created and built through business growth and expansion and as intra-regional trade and activity rebound, we expect commercial, people and wealth flows to increase."

In recent years two of HSBC's rivals Credit Suisse and Julius Baer both expanded their operations in Thailand, seeking to cater to the country's fast-expanding HNWI segment.

In 2020 HSBC Holdings combined its worldwide private banking and retail arms to create a new unit with $1.4trn AuM, half of which is in its Asian markets.

HSBC, which was founded in Hong Kong in 1865, has been operating in Thailand since 1888.