Citi will reportedly look to hire more private bankers this year in Hong Kong as part of its ambitions to capture new opportunities in the 11-city cluster Greater Bay Area.
Citi intends to hire another 100 private bankers in Hong Kong this year, according to an «SCMP» report citing the city’s head of private banking Horace Yip.
The hiring plans are driven in large part by opportunities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) – an 11-city cluster in southeastern China that includes Hong Kong and Macau.
According to a late 2020 report by Deloitte and CPA Australia, GBA is the wealthiest megalopolis in the world with an estimated 2.7 trillion yuan ($424 billion) in aggregate assets owned by 452,000 millionaire families.
GBA Outlook
Despite ongoing challenges from the pandemic, Yip noted that the border closure has reduced physical contact with mainland clients but, like many, has resulted in increased online communication.
In addition, he also noted tailwinds for the family office market in Hong Kong, with local lawmakers in talks to offer tax incentives in the second half of the year.
«The Bay area is definitely a growth engine for private banking business,» Yip said. «Tax incentives, and other Hong Kong government’s efforts to promote family offices, will attract more wealthy families to invest here.»
Citi’s 100 new planned hires for the private bank follow another 100 last year as part of broader plans to make 1,000 total wealth management hires in Hong Kong by 2025 – including 550 private bankers and relationship managers. The U.S. bank aims to grow its Asian client assets under management by $150 billion in the same period.
