The quality of relationship managers is critical as competition increases in the battle to recruit the best talent, says Enid Yip, chief executive for Asia at Bank Sarasin.
'We are again seeing the market heat up. We all keep hearing that 'Bank A' is going to hire 100 relationship managers and that 'Bank B' is going to hire 100. The question is, where are they all coming from?' she said.
'I've been in private banking for 20 years and I know that the only way to build a sustainable business is to take a steady approach to recruiting the best. My view is that we are always hiring - but only if we find the right people.'
It is an apt approach given the apparent consolidation in the private banking industry over the past few months. In January, for example, Singaporean bank OCBC closed a deal to buy Netherlands-based ING Group's private banking unit in Asia for close to US$1.5 billion. It was the biggest deal in the private banking sector since before the global financial crisis.
This highlights the increasing importance banks are placing on the potential of wealthy individuals in Asia, particularly North Asia including the mainland.
It is the region in which Barclays Wealth is concentrating more resources, said Joanna Chu Yuen-yi, head of North Asia for Barclays Wealth.
'China, including Hong Kong, will be a golden area because there are more entrepreneurs and enterprises coming to Hong Kong to list or to find business partners. There are definite opportunities for us to serve these ultra-high and high-net-worth customers in Hong Kong, which is why we continue to look for relationship managers and build up our sales force,' she said.