The volatile market environment and changes wrought by AI and other forces aren't distractions but opportunities for private bankers to demonstrate their value. That's the stance of the HSBC Private Bank chief executive who was appointed at the start of this year.

Private bankers must develop a close understanding of clients to help them to avoid being distracted by geopolitical and market volatility, the chief executive of HSBC Private Bank says. 

Getting into the details of what individuals and families want is non-negotiable as an objective for Ida Liu (main picture), who attained her post in January this year, told WealthBriefing in a recent interview.

Volatile markets and the seemingly endless flow of news headlines can cause clients heartburn, sometimes hampering wise decision-making. Liu said part of her job and that of her colleagues is being a steady source of calm amidst all this commotion. 

“If you do that job, most of our clients are very calm,” she said, speaking in her bank’s offices in Cork Street in London’s Mayfair district.

And there’s only so much that can be done with modern technology, including AI, to help clients, Liu said. 

“The use of technology…in AI requires a significant amount of human judgement. That intimacy [that the bank has] with clients is irreplaceable,” she continued.

WealthBriefing caught up with Liu between one of her regular trips around the world in which she meets colleagues in a business that has a footprint in scores of countries. The bank has booking centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, Taiwan, India, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the UAE, the UK, and the US. 

There are also many other onshore markets in which HSBC’s private banking arm is present. Keeping track of all this and coordinating teams is a big task – and comes with the inevitable jet travel that many wealth management professionals accept as part of the job.

But it was clear that Liu relishes the challenge.

“One of the strengths of the global private bank is [being present] in all these countries and with all these corridors around the world,” Liu said. “Clients are mobile and looking to work in different countries.”

HSBC has onboarded a “significant” number of clients into its European private banking business, she said. 

Liu spoke at a time when recent financial results show that the private banking and wealth side of the UK/Hong Kong-listed financial group is considerable. In early August, HSBC reported that it logged a 23 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit to $19.5 billion in the first six months of 2026. The increase partly reflected growth in banking net interest income and higher fee and other income, primarily in wealth and wholesale transaction banking, it said.

Total wealth balances across all business segments stood at $1.6 trillion, which was stable compared with 31 December 2025, after HSBC updated its definition from 1 January 2026 to exclude asset management third-party distribution assets.

Appointments
Recent weeks have been busy with several appointments, including the family offices side. Earlier in September, for example, the private bank said Hannes Hofmann would be joining as global head of family offices in a newly-created role. Based in London, he responsible for overseeing HSBCs global family office proposition. Cayman Wills has joined the business as head of the US private banking business and is be based in New York. Both individuals, like Liu, worked at Citi Private Bank previously. (Liu had been the global head of Citi Private Bank.)

Another important appointment, announced in early July, was that of Dimitri Anghelakis as head of trust and fiduciary services, taking over from Brent York, who retired after more than four decades at the bank. The trusts and fiduciary services (TFS) business, which supports entrepreneurs, philanthropists and families with specialist services to help preserve wealth, manage successions and plan legacies for future generations, is becoming part of HSBC Private Bank.

In early April, HSBC appointed Alfonso Gómez as chief executive of HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA and country head of Switzerland.

WealthBriefing asked Liu about the TFS business and the decision to take it within the private banking arm.

“We have always had a trust and fiduciary services business and TFS is now in its 80th year. It has now moved from the product side to the core part of the private bank. It helps us with a multi-generational approach in our business as well,” Liu said. 

Turning to areas such as family offices, along with how it harnesses the intellectual firepower and resources of the overall HSBC group, Liu said the opportunities are considerable. 

“We have this incredible opportunity particularly because of the global nature of what they [clients] are looking at,” she said. 

Many clients will have private wealth, and operational business needs that HSBC caters to, she continued. “They like having a one-stop shop,” Liu said.