Retail News CRM

Tag: Finance

  • HSBC Co-Head of Advisory and Investment Banking Exits

    HSBC Co-Head of Advisory and Investment Banking Exits

    HSBC’s co-head of advisory and investment banking coves has left the bank to pursue a senior role outside of the industry after joining two years ago.

    Peter Enns has left HSBC, after relocating to Asia from London last year where he was last the global head of financial institutions group for the bank.

    Prior to joining HSBC, Enns spent 21 years with Goldman Sachs in various roles including as the head of its Canada business.

    Enns leaves both business areas in stronger franchise positions, with improved financial performance, said Greg Guyett, co-CEO of global banking and markets in the memo. I would like to thank Peter for his contributions to HSBC.

    According to the bank, a search will be launched to replace Enns whose responsibilities in the meantime will be assumed by Adam Bashaw, the other global co-head of advisory and investment banking coverage.

    Separately, the bank is also strengthening its Asia business with the relocation of its global head of fixed income research Steven Major from London to Hong Kong.

    Lees ook:

  • UBS Private Bank Shuffles Top Executives

    UBS Private Bank Shuffles Top Executives

    The operating chief of UBS’ flagship wealth unit is leaving the job. His replacements will split oversight of the U.S. and rest of the world.

    Reto Wangler, operating chief to private bank co-heads Iqbal Khan and Tom Naratil, is leaving for a roughly year-long sabbatical from UBS, from February 1, according to a memo.

    He returns to the Swiss bank in a new role next year, the memo said. Wangler advanced to the job in 2018 through a mega-merger of its U.S.-based brokerage and wider, international private bank for the wealthy. A spokesman for UBS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

    He will be replaced by Kate Newcomb as well as Wiwi Gutmannsbauer at the $2.6 trillion unit, effective February 1, according to the memo. Newcomb, who currently oversees operations at the U.S. wealth unit, will continue to do so.

    Meanwhile, Gutmannsbauer, who UBS seconded to Asia nearly three years ago to oversee operations for its regional wealth activities, will take on Switzerland and international. Gutmannsbauer will relocate to Zurich from Singapore in the second quarter of 2020.

    Both he and Newcomb have spent much of their career in operations: she began at Paine Webber, a predecessor brokerage, as an accountant in 1984 and moved to operations just before the financial crisis.

    Gutmannsbauer has held various operations roles in the private bank. With their successful track records, they are ideally suited to further strengthen our digital capabilities and front-to-back efficiency, private bank co-heads Khan and Naratil wrote in the memo to staff.

  • HSBC Securities Services Joins BlackRock’s Provider Network

    HSBC Securities Services Joins BlackRock’s Provider Network

    The move allows asset managers and asset owners to connect seamlessly with HSBC through a single platform.

    HSBC on Tuesday announced that it will offer access to its Securities Services’ products via «Aladdin» – a Blackrock-run platform that helps assets managers check risk in their portfolios, trade, manage data management, and other operational tasks, from the first half of 2021, starting in Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Aladdin – or asset, liability, debt, and derivatives investment network – was conceived by the New York-based firm in the late 1990s as an internal tool. Today, it is one of Blackrock’s most powerful tech tools that it sells to smaller rivals, in a bid to stave off pressure on its active management fund arm from cheaper index funds.

    Sebastien Danloy, HSBC Securities Services’ global head of asset owners and managers, said joining the network adds to HSBC’s capabilities to connect to its clients’ front-office platforms and to offer front-to-back solutions in an open architecture environment to the asset management community.

    Integrating HSBC’s middle office, custody, and fund administration services with Aladdin will help clients access real-time data, streamline their workflows, reduce their manual processes and improve their operational efficiencies, the bank said in the announcement.

    HSBC currently administers $500 billion in assets for 20 global asset managers who already use Aladdin.

    Lees ook:

  • Goldman Sachs MENA Head Retires

    Goldman Sachs MENA Head Retires

    Wassim Younan will retire from his position after nearly three decades with the bank and seeing its Middle Eastern expansion up close.

    Younan, 58, will retire by year-end, according to a report, and his role thereafter will be replaced by co-chief executive officers Fadi Abuali and Zaid Khaldi. The two will continue to retain their existing responsibilities in asset management and investment banking, respectively.

    Khaldi will relocate to Dubai and Abuali will stay based in London and split time with the bank’s MENA offices.

    Younan’s time with Goldman Sachs saw its expansion in the region since 2006 which included various milestones including the establishment of offices in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh as well as the achievement of key deals such as Saudi Aramco’s record $29.3 billion IPO earlier this year.

  • Vietcombank set for lower profit as lending slows

    Vietcombank set for lower profit as lending slows

    Vietcombank’s profits are set to decline for the first time since 2013 due to slower credit growth amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a brokerage forecast.

    The country’s most profitable lender’s pre-tax profit could fall by 1.6 percent to VND22.75 trillion ($984 billion) this year after credit growth in the first nine months virtually halved year-on-year to 6.5 percent, RongViet Securities Corporation (VDSC) in Ho Chi Minh City said in a note.

    Provision for bad debts in the period rose 25 percent to VND6 trillion as companies suspended business.

    Its investment in securities resulted in a loss of VND14.5 billion as against a profit of VND116.5 billion last year.

    RongViet forecast 16 percent growth in pre-tax profit next year at VND26.37 trillion if the pandemic is under control by then.

    The bank signed an exclusive bancassurance deal with insurance firm FWD, which will give it $400 million in prepaid fees for the next five years.

    That will help increase the bank’s top line this quarter by 23 percent year-on-year, the brokerage said.

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Fintechs Exceedingly Optimistic on Growth Prospects

    Singapore Fintechs Exceedingly Optimistic on Growth Prospects

    The majority of fintech companies in Singapore are bullish about their prospects over the next three to five years, as they see new opportunities emerging in the post-pandemic world.

    The majority of companies surveyed in the «Fintech Talent Report 2020» said they are planning to hire more people in the coming months to support their expansion plans, and are gradually shifting towards hiring local talent.

    Demand for talent is even higher than last year, despite the pandemic and economic situation, the report said.

    This shows that the FinTech industry is resilient and continues to be a strong source of growth in the market. In fact, the challenge is the availability of talents with the right skillset and mindset,  Wanyi Wong, fintech leader at PwC Singapore, said.

    The report, published by PwC Singapore, the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), and the Banking and Financial Services Union (BFSU), surveyed 1,491 individuals working at fintech firms with a presence in Singapore.

    It said that the introduction of digital banks in Singapore is likely to have spillover benefits to the wider fintech community, increasing the availability of local talent across the industry.

    The combination of banking and fintech is seen as offering the best of both worlds and driving interest in people to learn the necessary skills to work in such institutions,» the report said.

  • StanChart Explores Second Digital-Only Bank

    StanChart Explores Second Digital-Only Bank

    Standard Chartered said that it was considering another digital-only bank based in Singapore – similar to MOX in Hong Kong – after receiving recognition by local regulators to receive preferential treatment as a foreign lender earlier this year.

    Standard Chartered could acquire an additional Singapore banking license under the Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank (SRFB), according to a report, in a move that would mirror its Hong Kong digital-only bank, Mox.

    We are naturally interested in qualifying for the recently-announced enhanced SRFB framework to further deepen our presence here, according to a spokesperson for the bank.

    This will give us the option to explore an additional banking license. Under this construct, we would look to leverage on the technology and experience gained from MOX, our digital bank in Hong Kong, to operate a similar platform in Singapore together with a strong ecosystem partner.

    Standard Chartered was the first foreign bank to be named an SFRB in August this year and the new status gives it significant advantages such as the ability to set up a digital-only unit, lower amounts in paid-up capital and a greater number of places of businesses (POBs) allowed (from 25 to 50), of which 35 may be branches.

    We have a very robust record in digitalization and digital banking, and we will continue to invest and explore the best digital model for our clients in Singapore, the spokesperson said.

    Earlier this year, reports claimed that the bank was already considering the launch of another digital-only bank through a joint venture with the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Enterprise. The latest comments about the plans were made on the same day that the city-state announced the four winners of the much anticipated digital banking license race.

    Lees ook:

  • HSBC Private Banking identifies key business solutions for female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong Thriving during Covid-19

    HSBC Private Banking identifies key business solutions for female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong Thriving during Covid-19

    HSBC Private Banking gave a boost of confidence to female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the week-long digital summit FoundHER, held in partnership with AllBright, concluded successfully. The summit, which gathered successful female founders and investors in town, sought to unite and build a strong business network that enables entrepreneurial success.

    The Hong Kong series was convened between 16 and 19 November to tackle challenges female entrepreneurs encounter during times of adversity. The event was tailored to provide practical and timely advice on making a successful virtual pitch; insights from experienced angel investors, business leaders and wealth management experts on new investment opportunities; and real-time consultations on business pitches.

    While investors are more stringent in their assessment of a firm’s business model and medium term growth potential during the Covid-19 pandemic, Fan Cheuk Wan, Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist for Asia, HSBC Private Banking, said, “We observe equally strong interests shared by private investors who are looking for innovative, sustainable investment solutions and business opportunities that will emerge robustly after the pandemic.” She added, “Female founders, especially those at early-stage startups, should stay highly adaptive and responsive to the rapidly changing world. By staying on top of the latest global and industry trends, they can build more robust and resilient businesses. Sustainable business models for startups can be more successful in convincing investors during fundraising, despite external challenges and a lack of track record.”

    Echoing these views is Veronica Chou, a well-known female investor, and founder of Everybody and Everyone, a sustainable and eco-innovative womenswear brand. Chou shared that constant communication and risk aversion are keys for her brand’s success. She said “The one thing we all need to do more of is to connect and learn from other industries and even competitors.” She stressed the importance of collaborating with the industry, communities and society at large, to address the growing need for more sustainable and innovative business practices following the global pandemic. Heeding these calls in advance would help protect one’s business, especially during challenging times.

    The FoundHER series has proven to be a meaningful and purposeful networking event at a time where the pandemic has severely hit growth plans of female founders across the city. HSBC Private Banking takes an active and functional role in enabling access to experts who can guide and support entrepreneurs, to help them grow their business and connect them to a variety of opportunities within its network.

    Cynthia Lee, Regional Head of Wealth Planning & Advisory, Asia Pacific , said, “We are well-placed to push forward our efforts in supporting Hong Kong’s female entrepreneurs, as we partner with AllBright for the second consecutive year. The digital summit underscores the value and power of networking, to constantly bring in fresh ideas and lessons from sustainable and successful business models. We believe the programme will prepare female founders and enable them to thrive when new investment opportunities arise from the post-pandemic global recovery.”

     

    Debbie Wosskow OBE, co-founder of AllBright said, “What we are doing with HSBC Private Banking is pivotal to create a format where every woman can pitch the investors skillfully and confidently. While many firms found it hard to navigate their business during the pandemic, FoundHERoffers female founders abundant toolkits and industry insights from the global women community.”

     

  • Citi Digital-Only Offering Targets 200,000 New Clients in Hong Kong

    Citi Digital-Only Offering Targets 200,000 New Clients in Hong Kong

    Citi will look to realize the promises of financial inclusion with its new digital-only proposition in Hong Kong which can be accessed with as little as HK$1.

    And at HK$100, users can even find tailor-made fund portfolios based on investor needs, according to a statement from the bank.

    In addition to the low threshold, users can also earn as much as 1.8 percent on the deposit rate from the platform.

    Entitled Citi Plus, the platform will be first rolled out in Hong Kong before entering other markets in the Asia Pacific region.

    According to the bank, it will seek to add up to 200,000 clients over the next few years with a target of doubling its base within the next 24 months.

    Nowadays, young consumers have endless desires and expectations for digital living, and digital experience on wealth management is becoming part of their daily lives, said Lawrence Lam, consumer business manager at Citibank Hong Kong.

    Citibank has been committed to offering excellent services to best meet client needs. The launch of Citi Plus now is a testament to our customer-centric core principle.

  • UBS Poised for Swiss C-Suite Shake-Up

    UBS Poised for Swiss C-Suite Shake-Up

    UBS is reportedly preparing to retire one of its oldest top executives. The move paves the way for the Swiss bank’s highest-ranking female banker to take on a key business unit.

    The Zurich-based wealth manager is preparing to move Sabine Keller-Busse into the job of running its domestic arm, according to Manager Magazin. The German outlet didn’t cite sourcing for the move, nor provide any detail on when such a move could take place. A spokeswoman for UBS declined to comment.

    At the Swiss bank, where Ralph Hamers took over as CEO five weeks ago, she would replace Axel Lehmann, who has been in the top Swiss job for the last two years. The 61-year-old banker, the third person to oversee UBS’ home turf in five years, is among the oldest top executives at the Swiss bank.

    UBS, where the retirement age is 65 for men, doesn’t have a formal cut-off date for its top executives, but it isn’t much of a stretch to posit that Hamers will rejuvenate and diversify the body. The most likely time to do so would be when he hits 100 days in the job, in the spring of next year.

    The German outlet’s reporting is especially noteworthy because it was spot-on about the exit of Martin Blessing, the ex-CEO of Commerzbank, last year. The outlet’s reporting sparked an immediate, fierce rebuttal from CEO Sergio Ermotti at the time.

    The 55-year-old former McKinsey consultant earned plaudits for fast-tracking UBS’ work-from-home arrangements when the pandemic hit. At UBS, she has mainly overseen so-called corporate functions like human resources since 2010.

    She joined top management four years ago, was promoted to operating chief in the same shuffle that elevated Lehmann to the top Swiss job, and last year added UBS’ business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to her remit. Keller-Busse, who ran Credit Suisse’s business with private clients in Zurich from 2008 until joining UBS in 2010, was previously touted as a candidate for the top UBS job.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    The Private Banking Industry Group launches a talent development initiative aimed at undergraduate students in Singapore.

    The Private Banking Industry Group (PBIG) in Singapore will look to «enhance the employability and job readiness of students entering the workforce» by offering 200 undergraduate traineeship positions over the next three years, according to a statement.

    Training will be related to in-demand roles such as relationship managers, product managers, data analysts, business risk managers and cybersecurity analysts.

    The PBIG is made up of industry leaders in the city-state, including 14 banks, and is currently co-chaired by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and UBS.

    Candidates will be selected from a relevant program, of which 30 percent of the duration will be dedicated to the traineeship.

    The longer traineeship period will allow banks to develop more meaningful structured on-the-job training to complement the academic courses taken by the trainees, allowing them to be better equipped for full-time roles upon graduation, and stand a better chance to pursue a career in the wealth management sector, the statement said.

    Supporting financial institutions will benefit from a scheme that will fund 80 percent of the internship stipend, capped at $1,000 ($750) per month, for each trainee.

    The initiative, entitled Build, Encourage, Nurture (BEN), is being driven in response to both the growth and diversity in demand for talent within the financial services.

    The initiative will provide a sustainable pipeline of job-ready talent to Singapore’s private banking industry, which is essential for the sector’s growth, said Gillian Tan, an assistant managing director at MAS.

    We believe that to stay competitive in an ever-changing and disruptive future, it is critical for the industry to develop and nurture a workforce of the future with the right sustainable skills that can further enhance the financial industry and Singapore’s role as a key global financial center, added August Hatecke, APAC co-head of wealth management at UBS.

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    After a deadly pandemic wiped out most revenue for the year, Macau’s gaming industry could face a permanent structural shift with the potential introduction of a new system to exchange digital yuan for gambling chips.

    Macau’s watchdog, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, has been in talks with various casino operators over the usage a digital yuan to buy casino chips, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

    The discussions are still in the initial stages and no final decision has yet to be made.

    Currently, tourists entering Macau to gamble commonly use two methods to obtain casino chips. One method is to obtain chips by converting Hong Kong dollars (which is widely accepted in the fellow special administrative region). Another is to obtain credit often from junket providers, a method commonly used by mainland high rollers to sidestep Chinese capital control rules.

    By introducing the digital yuan and enforcing it as the medium to exchange casino chips, authorities risk disrupting Hong Kong dollar flows and, more importantly, putting junkets out of business.

    In addition to hurting service providers in the middle, imposing a digital yuan would significantly increase the transparency of money flows from the mainland to Macau.

    Industry watchers are concerned not only about the lack of privacy for gamblers but also the potential of a conversion cap to expand the coverage of mainland China’s capital control rules.

    Although some believe the introduction of the move could boost Chinese middle-class participation in Macau’s gambling sector through the ease of conversion, others expect a fallout in the casino hub due to its strong reliance on high rollers that need financial flexibility.

    The report added that the increased exposure to casinos in Russia and the Philippines by Suncity Group, the listed arm of Macau’s biggest junket operator and the recent mystery buyer of cigar brands like Cohiba, was a response to changes such as the potential implementation of the digital yuan, citing another unnamed source.

    Gaming revenue in Macau has plunged by $27 billion this year, down at least 90 percent for six straight months since March.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • UOB to Launch FX Engine

    UOB to Launch FX Engine

    The bank joins other major FX participants in serving strong institutional FX flows in Asia, as the republic aims to boost its role as the global FX price discovery and liquidity hub in the Asian time zone.

    UOB will launch an electronic foreign exchange (FX) pricing and trading engine in Singapore, which will enable clients to tap the available market liquidity with greater efficiency, in the second quarter of 2021, the bank announced on Monday in a statement.

    The FX trading engine will take advantage of reduced latency via co-location connectivity to improve price discovery and to enhance pricing capability. Leslie Foo, UOB’s head of group global markets, said the bank is looking forward to playing a major role in Singapore’s fast-growing FX e-trading ecosystem.

    Under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) FX Trading Hub strategy, which aims to cement Singapore as the top FX trading center in Asia Pacific, firms like Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, UBS, Citi, BNP Paribas, Euronext, Jump Trading and XTX Markets have built their own regional trading infrastructure in the city-state.

    It remains a key priority for MAS to further broaden and deepen our FX market, and we welcome more buy-side participants to join the fast-growing FX e-trading ecosystem in Singapore, Lim Cheng Khai, MAS executive director financial markets development, said in the announcement

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Banks Unite to Boost Commodity Financing Standards

    Singapore Banks Unite to Boost Commodity Financing Standards

    The ABS Code of Best Practices for Commodity Financing, launched with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), is the industry’s first set of commodity financing best practices.

    The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has launched a set of best practices to ensure a more robust and disciplined financing approach to support the growth of Singapore’s commodity trading sector, it announced on Monday.

    Developed with feedback from a diverse range of commodity trading companies and an industry working group of 28 banks, the Code lays out key principles governing prudent commodity trade financing practices, providing a benchmark for banks’ lending standards in the sector to help enhance the resilience, relevance and competitiveness of Singapore as a global commodity trading hub.

    The Code is designed to provide broad guidance to banks, which are expected to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures, as well as controls, are in place to observe the principles in the Code in a risk proportionate manner, ABS said

    Samuel Tsien, chairman of ABS and Group CEO of OCBC, said the Code is «an important step to strengthen Singapore’s stature as a global commodity trading hub.»

    The Code is a step in the right direction to boost corporate transparency and enhance the trust between the banks and commodity trading companies. This will help to promote accountability and uphold the integrity of the commodity trading sector, Andy Sim, ACRA’s assistant chief executive, legal services and compliance, said in the announcement.

    Singapore’s oil trading sector has come under the spotlight since the commodity’s plunge earlier this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with several trading firms having trouble repaying their debts. Numerous banks including HSBC, DBS, OCBC, Societe Generale and ABN AMRO, were owed a total of $3.8 billion by oil trader Hin Leong, while Zenrock owes at least six banks a total of $166.1 million and has outstanding balances of $449 million

  • DBS Ramps Up Support for Social Enterprises

    DBS Ramps Up Support for Social Enterprises

    The bank disbursed S$7 million ($5.23 million) in loans to social enterprises so far this year, up fourfold from 2019.

    Much of this support has gone towards creating and preserving livelihoods, with many of the SEs using the funds to create and retain jobs that hire people from disadvantaged communities, DBS said in a statement on Thursday.

    DBS said that access to working capital was an immediate priority for many SEs when the pandemic emerged, but many of them faced challenges in getting loans as they typically lacked a borrowing history with banks or relevant credit profiles.

    The bank rolled out its SE Digital Business Loan in May this year, which covers working capital needs at preferential rates. The bank also offers the Social Enterprise Business Loan which provides unsecured loans at a preferential interest rate, and the Temporary Bridging Loan, which provides short-term relief assistance.

    In addition, DBS Foundation awarded S$2 million in grants to social enterprises (SEs) to support the deployment of social innovations. The funding includes S$1.4 million given to 13 SEs in six of the bank’s key markets (Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Taiwan) in the 2020 cycle of its DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Program.

    Two were from Singapore: Ento Industries – a biotech focused on reducing food waste, and Zigway, a ASEAN-focused fintech that makes bulk buying affordable for low-income families through a monthly subscription model.

    Recipients were chosen from a record 820 applications across Asia, based on social impact, innovation, as well as the sustainability and scalability of their business models. They were also required to demonstrate a path to achieving key business and social impact milestones.

    DBS noted the increasing recognition for the role SEs play in society.

    In the world we’re living in today, companies must not only think about delivering value to shareholders, but also consider the interests of the communities they serve. This has really come to the fore amidst Covid-19, which has sparked unprecedented social and economic challenges – yet, these very issues have also heightened opportunities for social enterprises to make a difference, and helped to cement the importance of their role in society, Karen Ngui, Board Member of DBS Foundation, said in the statement.

    Lees ook: