Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild is closing its Hong Kong operations, according to media reports. It citing rising costs as the reason behind its decision.
More than two decades after it opened shop in the former British territory, Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild is closing its operations in Hong Kong, according to three people familiar with the matter, as news agency «Reuters» reports.
The Geneva-based bank, which had 167 billion Swiss francs ($165 billion) of assets under management as of end June 2016, has already surrendered its China operating license and will run its Japan and Korea operations through its Swiss head office. «This is part of a return to Europe strategy due to rising cost pressures,» said one source.
Closing by End of 2016?
The 63-year-old bank, which confirmed the closure in a statement on Thursday, opened in Hong Kong in 1992 and was among the first of a wave of boutique private banks seeking to capture the business of a rapidly growing class of affluent Asians. A spokesman for Edmond de Rothschild declined to comment.
According to the report, the Hong Kong operation will close by the end of December. The closure is indicative of the broad cost pressures the private banking industry in Asia is facing and part of a wave of operational rationalization sweeping the sector, as finews.asia reported on Tuesday.
