Business News
Barclays to hike wealth management business in Asia
Jan 2, 2007, 4:33 GMT
Singapore - Barclays Wealth, the private banking arm of UK banking group Barclays, is planning to boost its private banking operations in Asia, chief executive officer Thomas Kalaris said in a published report on Tuesday.
'If it takes us slightly longer to hire the people we want, that's OK,' Kalaris told The Business Times. His approach comes as a contrast to the fierce poaching of staff among some other firms.
'The demographic and economic trends in Asia are so powerful that whether it takes three years or five years is irrelevant,' said the London-based banker.
Barclays Wealth has 60 private bankers in Asia who shuttle between Singapore and Hong Kong, its centres of operation. Asset managers bring the number employed in the region to 100.
Private banking in Asia is still a very fragmented business, Kalaris said. 'Even UBS, the largest player, doesn't have a commanding market share.'
There is agreement among private banking heads that the current pool of talent is far from enough to meet the rising demand for wealth management services coming from the increasing number of rich individuals in the region.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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