Rival banks have been recruiting figures for Greater China leadership roles, such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, in recent weeks. At Goldman Sachs, Ralph Ho, team leader at the China desk for DBS Private Bank, left the Singapore-headquartered firm to join Goldman. Credit Suisse appointed Angie Ma as managing director, sector head and deputy market leader for Greater China.

The business division formerly known as Barclays Wealth, and later its wealth and investment arm, has been folded into the new Personal & Corporate Banking unit. In its first-half 2014 results, reported yesterday and reflecting the new structure, the bank did not specify details on wealth management performance metrics such as inflows, assets under management, profits, headcount, or cost/income ratio. A number of high-profile Barclays' wealth division managers have left in recent weeks, or are standing down. Most notably, Peter Horrell, head of the old wealth unit, is leaving at the end of this year.