A number of international wealth management firms and private banks have cranked up their involvement in the Asian nation.

HSBC Private Banking has made a number of senior hires in the Philippines, arguing that it needs to position for growth in a country expected to become one of the fastest-expanding HNW markets by the end of 2022. The bank has an onshore market in Manila and boasts a presence there going back 143 years.

The bank has appointed Valerie See-Tang and Janice Marie Laurel as relationship managers. Prior to this, See-Tang was a branch head of HSBC Quezon City branch and Laurel was a premier team leader of HSBC Ortigas branch. Carmen Wong has joined in Hong Kong as RM for the Philippines desk. She joins after six years at JP Morgan as an RM for the Philippines market, after other roles with Deutsche Bank and Citi.

The Philippines market teams in Manila and Hong Kong report to Bala Balagopalan, market head for Philippines and Japan, North Asia, HSBC Private Banking. (Ailene Manzano-Litonjua, is head head of private banking, HSBC Philippines.)

“In line with HSBC Private Banking’s global strategy, we aim to be the bank of choice for business owners and their families. Private banking supports clients with a minimum of investable assets of $5 million,” a spokesperson told this news service when asked about its strategy. The bank has not outlined its assets' ambitions in the country at this stage.

The bank, citing industry forecasts, said the Philippines is expected to become one of the top 10 fastest-growing high net worth countries by the end of 2022. 

Philippines growth
The Philippines has been an active market for private client wealth management hires and moves in recent years, buoyed by an improving economic position. In April 2018, Credit Suisse won regulatory clearance to set up a representative office in the Philippines for its wealth management arm. (See a senior hire story here.) In 2017, it appointed Michael De Guzman as country manager for Philippines and head of Philippines coverage for investment banking and capital markets. Christian Senn, a 30-year veteran of Credit Suisse’s private banking business, was also named as market group head for the Philippines in the Asian-Pacific part of the private bank, based in Singapore.

Citi Private Bank last October appointed Jørgen Weber Christensen as global market manager for the Philippines.

In November 2017, Bank J Safra Sarasin appointed Bellen Chang as a managing director for client advisory in its ultra-high net worth team, focusing on the Philippines. A number of the major banks have representative offices in the country, such as Singapore-based DBS; Bank of Singapore and United Overseas Bank. HSBC Private Banking has an office in the country; Standard Chartered’s private bank is also present there - in fact StanChart claims to be the oldest international bank in the jurisdiction, with a history in the country dating back to 1872.

In late June 2017, Manulife, the financial services group, said that one of its business arms had been given the green light to provide trust and fiduciary services business in the Philippines.