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Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Finance news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Sergio Ermotti Set to Leave UBS

    Sergio Ermotti Set to Leave UBS

    UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti will leave the bank after retiring from his position later this year. He won’t become the chairman of Switzerland’s largest bank, as some observers had expected.

    Instead, Sergio Ermotti on April 17 will stand for election as a non-executive member of the board of Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer.

    In 2021, he will be nominated to succeed Walter Kielholz as chairman, according to a statement by Swiss Re on Tuesday.

    Kielholz is one of the heavyweights in Swiss finance and has been chairman of Swiss Re since 2009. He was on the board of the reinsurer for more than 20 years. Between 2003 and 2009, Kielholz was chairman of Credit Suisse.

    I am honored to be following in the footsteps of Walter Kielholz, who over the past decades immensely furthered the development not only of Swiss Re, but the entire Swiss financial center, said Ermotti, according to the statement.

    Today’s announcement put paid to speculation that CEO Ermotti would be replacing Chairman Axel Weber after retiring from his current position at the end of October. When the bank announced Ermotti’s departure at the end of February, it didn’t make a statement about a potential handover of responsibilities at the top of the bank.

    At the end of his tenure at UBS, Ermotti will have been CEO of Switzerland’s biggest bank for nine years. Together with Weber, who was elected chairman of the bank in 2012, he has moved UBS away from the classic investment banking model toward a strategy based on wealth management.

    More recently, the talk had been about differences of opinion at the top as the board was said to be unhappy how Ermotti had set up his succession plan. UBS has not been able to give the share price a boost, which has never recovered from the financial crisis.

    The appointment of Dutch banker Ralph Hamers in February as Ermotti’s successor came as a major surprise. Hamers is known for his digital banking expertise and will need to get UBS ready for the future.

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  • HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC has announced the launch of a new global business, combining retail banking and wealth management and global private banking. Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China is on track.

    HSBC’s new unit will become one of the world’s largest global wealth managers with $.4 trillion in assets, with nearly half of the assets from Asia, according to a media release on Monday. Wealth and personal banking will cover the entire spectrum of private wealth, from retail clients to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals.

    Across Asia, where wealth pools are growing faster than in any other region, HSBC’s wealth revenues grew 12 percent in 2019 (year on year) to $.7 billion.

    This move creates one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing wealth franchises, centered in Asia and serving clients around the world. HSBC’s wealth propositions are compelling, increasingly digital and support individuals no matter where they are in their wealth journey, from first-time investors – to clients considering generational planning needs, Charlie Nunn, CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC, said.

    In 2019, HSBC grew affluent and emerging high net worth clients globally in Premier1 and Jade, respectively, by 7 percent and 14 percent year on year. Over half of Jade’s total clients globally are in Asia. Global private banking, where profit before tax grew by 19 percent, attracted a record $23 billion of net new money in 2019, two-thirds of which were in Asia. 2019 also saw an increase in Asia client assets of 22 percent to $51 billion.

    Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China is on track. Since 2017, both businesses have recruited 800 people, including private bank relationship managers, investment counselors, UHNW solution specialists, and product specialists, and Jade directors and relationship managers, investment and insurance specialists.

    In 2019, four Jade Centres were opened across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. This year, HSBC has recently opened two more Jade Centres in Hong Kong and plans to open one in Beijing.

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  • Ex-Citi Singapore Banker To Join Grab-Singtel

    Ex-Citi Singapore Banker To Join Grab-Singtel

    Citibank Singapore’s head of retail banking Charles Wong is set to join the Grab-Singtel entity that is bidding for a digital full bank in Singapore.

    With strong credentials for bringing about a strong turnaround of Citi Singapore’s business, Charles Wong is likely to play a key role in the digital full bank if the Grab-Singtel consortium secures the license, according to a report.

    Wong had resigned from the U.S. bank in February after more than 20 years at Citibank, where he spent nearly five years in his last role as head of retail banking at Citibank Singapore. Under his leadership, the unit delivered consistent double-digit growth.

    Grab Holdings and Singtel have jointly applied for a digital full bank license, with Grab holding a 60 percent stake in the proposed consortium, and Singtel holding the rest.

    Both partners see financial services as a natural extension of their core businesses.

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  • ING and Maybank Top Creditors To Troubled Commodity Trader

    ING and Maybank Top Creditors To Troubled Commodity Trader

    ING and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) were the top creditors of Singapore commodity trader Agritrade International, which was last month placed under interim judicial management.
    Malaysia’s Maybank tops the list of secured lenders to Agritrade with $118 million owed to it, while Dutch bank ING is owed $100 million, according to a report. Agritrade International was placed under interim judicial management in February after the court dismissed an application for a debt moratorium.
    The trading company has $1.55 billion in outstanding liabilities, including $983 million owed to secured lenders, an affidavit by Agritrade’s chief executive officer Xinwei Ng dated Jan. 16, showed. Multiple Banks InvolvedFrench, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, the United Arab Emirates and Korean banks, along with 10 private funds are among Agritrade’s other creditors, are also on the list. Others on the list include global commodity traders.
    Agritrade said in the affidavit it ran into financial problems around 2018 amid a declining commodities market and its funding issues were compounded after many banks halted funding.
  • OCBC Joins Others To Provide Car Loan Approvals

    OCBC Joins Others To Provide Car Loan Approvals

    OCBC customers can now apply and get approval for car loans within 60 seconds, following similar moves made by two other local banks.

    The faster approval process is made possible due to leveraging Singapore’s national data repository, MyInfo, and the bank’s real-time KYC (know your customer) and credit assessment system. The lender said its latest digital solution will cut the hassle of filling up hard-copy forms, simplifying a process that traditionally takes a few working days.

    Not only is the (conventional) car loan application process time-consuming, but customers also have to share sensitive personal information such as income details with the sales representative. On top of that, approval by the financier may take a day or even a few days on a case-to-case basis, the bank said in a statement.

    In the automotive industry, around 95 percent of car purchases and car loans are completed with the help of car sales representatives, and these representatives along with their customers typically need to complete a considerable amount of paperwork.

    With the new process, customers need not share sensitive personal details with a third party under OCBC’s new car loan approval process. Instead, they will key in their personal details online using their own devices.

    In July 2018, United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched what it says is the fastest digital loan solution for car buyers in Singapore, and announced a tie-up with Carousell, an online classified ads marketplace. Similarly, DBS also leverages on MyInfo to simplify the process of applying for car loans on their website.

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  • UBS Cuts CEO Sergio Ermotti’s Pay

    UBS Cuts CEO Sergio Ermotti’s Pay

    UBS boss Sergio Ermotti’s pay fell more than 10 percent in 2019, amid a setback for the wealth manager in a landmark French criminal trial. Private bank co-boss Iqbal Khan was paid $8.4 million to defect from Credit Suisse.

    The Swiss-based bank cut pay for outgoing CEO Sergio Ermotti to 12.5 million ($12.9 million) last year from 14.1 million francs in 2018, according to UBS’ annual report published on Friday. The bank said it weighed the impact of a French criminal ruling against UBS last year for top executives, as well as the «resulting share price development».

    The long-standing UBS boss, who is a notable shareholder as well, remains the highest-paid banker at the Swiss wealth giant – and likely among the top earners of European bank CEOs as well. UBS paid its new-co-head of private banking, Iqbal Khan, 8.2 million francs to defect from Credit Suisse last summer, the report reveals. His annual pay isn’t disclosed.

    Ermotti hands over to UBS’ next CEO, Ralph Hamers, in November. Hamers’ 1.75 million euro ($1.9 million) pay-day in 2018 illustrates the stark differences between corporate Switzerland and the eurozone: the Dutch banking veteran was due for a 50 percent pay rise two years ago for running ING – until Dutch politicians put the kibosh on it.

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  • HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC has announced the launch of a new global business, combining retail banking and wealth management and global private banking. Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China is on track.

    HSBC’s new unit will become one of the world’s largest global wealth managers with $.4 trillion in assets, with nearly half of the assets from Asia, according to a media release on Monday. Wealth and personal banking will cover the entire spectrum of private wealth, from retail clients to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals.

    Across Asia, where wealth pools are growing faster than in any other region, HSBC’s wealth revenues grew 12 percent in 2019 (year on year) to $.7 billion.

    This move creates one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing wealth franchises, centered in Asia and serving clients around the world. HSBC’s wealth propositions are compelling, increasingly digital and support individuals no matter where they are in their wealth journey, from first-time investors – to clients considering generational planning needs, Charlie Nunn, CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC, said.

    In 2019, HSBC grew affluent and emerging high net worth clients globally in Premier1 and Jade, respectively, by 7 percent and 14 percent year on year. Over half of Jade’s total clients globally are in Asia. Global private banking, where profit before tax grew by 19 percent, attracted a record $23 billion of net new money in 2019, two-thirds of which were in Asia. 2019 also saw an increase in Asia client assets of 22 percent to $51 billion.

    Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China is on track. Since 2017, both businesses have recruited 800 people, including private bank relationship managers, investment counselors, UHNW solution specialists, and product specialists, and Jade directors and relationship managers, investment and insurance specialists.

    In 2019, four Jade Centres were opened across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. This year, HSBC has recently opened two more Jade Centres in Hong Kong and plans to open one in Beijing.

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  • OCBC Cuts Days In Issuing First Electronic Banker’s Guarantee

    OCBC Cuts Days In Issuing First Electronic Banker’s Guarantee

    OCBC Bank has issued an electronic banker’s guarantee (eBG), making it the first lender to tap on Singapore Custom’s Electronic Guarantee Program.

    OCBC Bank became the first bank to leverage Singapore Customs’ electronic Banker’s Guarantee program launched on Monday, issuing an electronic banker’s guarantee (eBG) to Singapore Customs on behalf of vCargo Cloud, an Infocomm Technology solution and service provider that performs customs declaration services for forwarders and shippers.

    It has taken some time for trade finance to be digitalized, but the momentum has picked up over the last few years. Already, close to half of our trade transacting customers who were previously sent in paper trade applications are now doing so via our internet banking portal Velocity@ocbc,» said Melvyn Low, Head, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank in a media statement.

    «And now, with this inaugural eBG, we have seen the end to end digitalization of the Banker’s Guarantee process, which is a milestone for the trade industry’s digital transformation,» added Low. OCBC Bank said its API connectivity with the Networked Trade Platform (NTP) has enabled the bank to electronically transmit details of its customers’ eBG to Singapore Customs.

    As a result, the time taken from an application – which can be done via the bank’s business online banking platform Velocity@ocbc – to delivery of the Banker’s Guarantee to Singapore Customs, has gone from 7 working days to 1 working day. Businesses can benefit from this more efficient process as it mitigates the risk and costs that result from delays and disruptions to their imports into Singapore.

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  • Axa Mandiri Lays Out Plans to Grow Premium Income

    Axa Mandiri Lays Out Plans to Grow Premium Income

    Axa Mandiri Financial Services, one of Indonesia’s major insurance companies, expects to maintain double-digit growth in premium income this year, by tapping into the large customer base of its parent company, Bank Mandiri.

    Axa Mandiri Financial Services (Axa Mandiri)’s president director Handojo G. Kusuma said that the insurer would market its products more intensively to customers of Bank Mandiri, which has one of the largest customer bases in the country.

    We hope to book double-digit growth in premium income by tailoring insurance products to the special needs of Bank Mandiri customers, said Kusuma, who was quoted in the «Jakarta Post» (behind paywall).

    Despite having worked together with Bank Mandiri for many years, Axa Mandiri’s penetration among the bank’s clients was still below optimal levels, he noted.

    To realize the targeted double-digit growth in premium income, Axa Mandiri did a data analytics study on Bank Mandiri’s market segmentation. «By understanding the needs of each segment better, we will be able to improve upselling and cross-selling,» Kusuma added.

    To effectively market to the millennials, the company would study the behavior and characteristics of customers in that segment and offer an affordable and easy-to-understand retail package that would be relevant and convenient for them, Handojo explained.

    For the growing halal market, the company planned to expand its portfolio of sharia-compliant products to between 20 percent and 25 percent of its business in the upcoming year from 4 to 5 percent at present.

    If we look at the market share potential, we can say that 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslims, hence we will continue to grow our sharia business, said Axa Mandiri sales director Henky Oktavianus.

    He added that the company was still studying the sharia market segmentation of its sister company, Bank Syariah Mandiri, to understand what products to offer its clients and how best to sell them.

    Axa Mandiri booked a gross premium income of 9.5 trillion rupiahs ($698.5 million) in 2019, an increase of 11 percent from 8.59 trillion rupiahs in 2018. Net investment touched 668 billion rupiahs in 2019, following a deficit of 1.68 trillion rupiahs in 2018.

    As a result, revenue totaled Rp 10.74 trillion in 2019, a 44 percent year-on-year increase. Net profit, therefore, rose 6 percent to  1 trillion rupiahs in 2019.

    Axa Mandiri is jointly owned by Bank Mandiri, which has a 51 percent stake, and Axa Group’s National Mutual International, which holds 49 percent.

  • DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS is ramping up its portfolio advisory capabilities to provide Private Bank and Treasures clients with more insightful and comprehensive investment reviews.

    DBS is introducing a portfolio review tool, co-developed with wealth technology provider EdgeLab, to give clients in-depth assessments of their portfolio performance and risk exposures, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday.

    According to the bank, the tool addresses gaps in traditional client investment reviews, which often miss valuable contextual information such as the performance of each investment against the wider portfolio or equivalent benchmarks, and where the overall portfolio risk exposures lie.

    Understanding what you own and how each investment impacts your portfolio is fundamental to making robust investment decisions. It is key to navigating today’s uncertain markets, where it is important to go back to basics, and not leave things to luck or chance, Sim S Lim, group head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said in the statement.

    A report with this information takes only five minutes to generate, and will allow relationship managers (RMs) to offer more personalized and relevant investment recommendations, DBS said. The report will also be provided as supplements to monthly client statements.

    The bank said that in the next phase of the development of the tool, it will equip RMs with the ability to stimulate investments into existing portfolios, as well as propose and construct new client portfolios.

    Among its efforts to enable more informed decision-making, DBS also recently added MSCI ESG Ratings, which measures a company’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, into its suite of wealth products, advisory and discretionary portfolio services.

  • Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Standard Chartered on Thursday has pushed back its target return on tangible equity, despite posting a commendable increase in annual profits. The revenue growth came from its main markets.

    The lender posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion for 2019, up from $2.55 billion in 2018, according to its results statement. The 45.5 percent increase in profits defied the headwinds of global trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong.

    However, this is slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank.

    The bank highlighted that its target of a 10 percent return on tangible equity, previously set for 2021, would be pushed back. In October, the global lender said that the goal had become more difficult amid worsening global economic conditions.

    These headwinds are expected to be transitory, but we now believe it will take longer to achieve our RoTE target of 10 percent than we previously envisaged,” it said in an earnings statement to the stock exchange.

    Stanchart’s results announcement comes after rival HSBC Holdings warned it could suffer loan losses of up to $600 million if the virus outbreak continues into the second half of the year.

    The bank added it has approved the buyback of up to $500 million worth of shares, which will commence shortly. It is in the midst of reviewing whether to do further capital return upon completing the sale of its stake in Indonesian lender Permata.

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  • BNP Paribas Negative On India’s Consumption Recovery

    BNP Paribas Negative On India’s Consumption Recovery

    The expectation for India’s consumption to recover in 2020 is getting pushed out further, according to forecasts by BNP Paribas.

    Given that the nation’s slowest economic expansion in 10 years has led to a deceleration in local consumer staples sales for the sixth straight quarter, the brokerage expects India’s consumption recovery to be delayed.

    There is a lack of meaningful catalysts for consumption to recover to its potential in the year to December, Kunal Vora, a Mumbai-based analyst at BNP Paribas Securities India wrote in a note to clients. A sustainable recovery in rural income growth and a sharp uptick in consumer sentiment index are necessary for recovery.

    The brokerage last month turned negative on the consumer goods sector, pointing out that lower raw material prices and tax cuts were masking underlying weakness in sales. Consumer sentiment in the nation has worsened to an almost five-year low while manufacturing slack at companies widened to the most on record, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed this month.

    The federal budget for the year starting April 1 didn’t offer much in terms of big-bang stimulus to boost rural incomes. Meanwhile, economic growth is still weighed down by bad debts in its banking sector. The three months to Dec. 31 marked the sixth consecutive quarter of moderation in aggregate revenue growth for consumer staples, and management commentaries indicate companies are uncertain about the timing of recovery.

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  • Axa Mandiri Lays Out Plans to Grow Premium Income

    Axa Mandiri Lays Out Plans to Grow Premium Income

    Axa Mandiri Financial Services, one of Indonesia’s major insurance companies, expects to maintain double-digit growth in premium income this year, by tapping into the large customer base of its parent company, Bank Mandiri.

    Axa Mandiri Financial Services (Axa Mandiri)’s president director Handojo G. Kusuma said that the insurer would market its products more intensively to customers of Bank Mandiri, which has one of the largest customer bases in the country.

    We hope to book double-digit growth in premium income by tailoring insurance products to the special needs of Bank Mandiri customers,» said Kusuma, who was quoted.

    Despite having worked together with Bank Mandiri for many years, Axa Mandiri’s penetration among the bank’s clients was still below optimal levels, he noted.

    To realize the targeted double-digit growth in premium income, Axa Mandiri did a data analytics study on Bank Mandiri’s market segmentation. «By understanding the needs of each segment better, we will be able to improve upselling and cross-selling,» Kusuma added.

    To effectively market to the millennials, the company would study the behavior and characteristics of customers in that segment and offer an affordable and easy-to-understand retail package that would be relevant and convenient for them, Handojo explained.

    For the growing halal market, the company planned to expand its portfolio of sharia-compliant products to between 20 percent and 25 percent of its business in the upcoming year from 4 to 5 percent at present.

    If we look at the market share potential, we can say that 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslims, [hence] we will continue to grow our sharia business, said Axa Mandiri sales director Henky Oktavianus.

    He added that the company was still studying the sharia market segmentation of its sister company, Bank Syariah Mandiri, to understand what products to offer its clients and how best to sell them.

    Axa Mandiri booked a gross premium income of 9.5 trillion rupiahs ($698.5 million) in 2019, an increase of 11 percent from 8.59 trillion rupiahs in 2018. Net investment touched 668 billion rupiahs in 2019, following a deficit of 1.68 trillion rupiahs in 2018.

    As a result, revenue totaled Rp 10.74 trillion in 2019, a 44 percent year-on-year increase. Net profit, therefore, rose 6 percent to  1 trillion rupiahs in 2019.

    Axa Mandiri is jointly owned by Bank Mandiri, which has a 51 percent stake, and Axa Group’s National Mutual International, which holds 49 percent.

    Lees ook:

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  • DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS is ramping up its portfolio advisory capabilities to provide Private Bank and Treasures clients with more insightful and comprehensive investment reviews.

    DBS is introducing a portfolio review tool, co-developed with wealth technology provider EdgeLab, to give clients in-depth assessments of their portfolio performance and risk exposures, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday.

    According to the bank, the tool addresses gaps in traditional client investment reviews, which often miss valuable contextual information such as the performance of each investment against the wider portfolio or equivalent benchmarks, and where the overall portfolio risk exposures lie.

    Understanding what you own and how each investment impacts your portfolio is fundamental to making robust investment decisions. It is key to navigating today’s uncertain markets, where it is important to go back to basics, and not leave things to luck or chance,» Sim S Lim, group head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said in the statement.

    A report with this information takes only five minutes to generate, and will allow relationship managers (RMs) to offer more personalized and relevant investment recommendations, DBS said. The report will also be provided as supplements to monthly client statements.

    The bank said that in the next phase of the development of the tool, it will equip RMs with the ability to stimulate investments into existing portfolios, as well as propose and construct new client portfolios.

    Among its efforts to enable more informed decision-making, DBS also recently added MSCI ESG Ratings, which measures a company’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, into its suite of wealth products, advisory and discretionary portfolio services.

    Lees ook:

  • Stanchart Pushes Back Target As Earnings Surged

    Stanchart Pushes Back Target As Earnings Surged

    Standard Chartered on Thursday has pushed back its target return on tangible equity, despite posting a commendable increase in annual profits. The revenue growth came from its main markets.

    The lender posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion for 2019, up from $2.55 billion in 2018, according to its results statement. The 45.5 percent increase in profits defied the headwinds of global trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong.

    However, this is slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank.

    The bank highlighted that its target of a 10 percent return on tangible equity, previously set for 2021, would be pushed back. In October, the global lender said that the goal had become more difficult amid worsening global economic conditions.

    These headwinds are expected to be transitory, but we now believe it will take longer to achieve our RoTE target of 10 percent than we previously envisaged,” it said in an earnings statement to the stock exchange.

    Stanchart’s results announcement comes after rival HSBC Holdings warned it could suffer loan losses of up to $600 million if the virus outbreak continues into the second half of the year.

    The bank added it has approved the buyback of up to $500 million worth of shares, which will commence shortly. It is in the midst of reviewing whether to do further capital return upon completing the sale of its stake in Indonesian lender Permata.

    Lees ook: