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Joined-up thinking
Stuart Crocker, CEO, UAE & Oman, for HSBC Private Bank, explains how the bank's ‘joined-up' approach is better meeting client needs and increasing referrals.
Has the turbulence in credit markets affected your clients' risk appetite?
I don't think the credit crunch has had that much of an effect and I don't think going forward we will see much of a change. I think what we're seeing in the region now is that many investors in the region have had very good returns from the local stock markets and therefore their risk appetite has been one of high returns and they've been looking for those kind of double-digit returns for a few years. I think that will probably continue. Therefore what we've got to do within HSBC Private Bank is to try and find global wealth solutions that will satisfy those needs. Whether we do that through the original mutual funds or whether we use hedge funds, or private equity depends entirely on the risk appetite and the profile of the client. What we're trying to do is get as close as we can to the client, to profile them, to find out their needs, and to then put the global wealth solutions to them.
What is the value of assets under management by your Middle East wealth management division?
The Middle East accounts for about 10% of HSBC Private Bank wealth management business. With close to 200 people employed in the region, we are the second-largest private banking hub within the group.
How does HSBC's approach differ to other private banks?
What we've done within the private bank is set up a global network for our clients, so we're looking nowadays at establishing a troika, where we've got the relationship manager, we have the investment advisor, and we also have the trust specialist who does the structuring of how the assets are going to be held. But at the end of the day it's the client who runs the relationship and actually drives the direction because we profile them to find out what it is they need. This troika effect is something we are now moving forward with and we are very much working as a team rather than individual relationship managers working directly with a client.
Are there any kinds of products for which you are seeing high demand?
Mutual funds definitely are a key investment product and I think there is a big place for them in the future for any wealth management structure. But clients are getting much more sophisticated nowadays and what they're looking for is perhaps slightly more complicated, more sophisticated, more diversified, more global kinds of solutions, and with that comes a number of other things: hedge funds, private equity and partnerships. As a result of this, HSBC Private Bank is joining up globally to provide our clients with opportunities to go into cross-border deals, to travel to certain locations around the world where they can meet with other investors and look at the investment opportunities that exist. We've had a number of international trips recently. We've been to China very recently and we are in the process of organising a trip to Brazil. We've had a very good response to that.
Are you seeing increasing competition in this region from other private banks?
Certainly with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and what's been happening here in the last few years, Dubai is capturing the imagination of the world and there is an increase in the number of banks and companies and people coming to this region. With that comes competition, but I think it also provides opportunity. The opportunity for us at HSBC Private Bank is to really stand out as one of the market leaders, in terms of the time that we've been here on the ground for the last 60 years in the UAE, and also in terms of the way we approach our relationship with our clients.
How do you attract new clients?
A few years ago we used to have the odd referral from different areas. As a result of the joining up process, we now have a proper organised referral process system between the different business area heads and as a result of that the referral system is now very much a part of everyday life. We're therefore receiving much more referrals and that is where a lot of our business is coming from.
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