PRIVATE bankers pamper their clients, giving them a separate counter at the branch, making sure their cheques never bounce and taking their calls at all hours of the day or night.
What kind of person does it take to fill the job of hand-holder extraordinaire? Executive recruiters say they look for people with wealthy family connections. The more candid among them even admit to looking for attractive women.
'Rich men like sexy women to deal with,' one headhunter explained.
Private bankers themselves take a slightly different view of the job's demands.
Without discounting the importance of access to the rich and famous - and, perhaps, a pleasing exterior - bankers say they look for people with broad experience in lending, investing and even consumer banking.
Monica Wong, managing director of private banking at HSBC Investment Bank, said: 'If you have got somebody who has got contacts, who is also good in banking and in investment, then of course that would be the ideal.' Pay varies directly with the amount of business brought in. Ms Wong said compensation packages in Hong Kong varied from fixed salary to salary plus bonus to salary plus commission.
Should a client care how much his private banker makes? Probably not. But compensation schemes do provide insights into the banker's motivation and the bank's culture. A pay plan can help a bank retain a successful banker and provide incentives to act for clients' interests.
