Q1: Reflecting on 2025, what were your bank’s major milestones from an operational perspective and how did you achieve them? Conversely, what were the setbacks and challenges encountered along the way, and what measures were taken to surmount them? How have those lessons shaped your 2026 strategy?

Looking back on 2025, we delivered several operational milestones that improved efficiency, strengthened resilience, and reinforced alignment with regulatory expectations.

First, we transformed client lifecycle and relationship management by rolling out CUBE, a unified CLM/CRM platform across Hong Kong and Singapore. By bringing front-to-back processes into a single workflow, we improved data consistency, streamlined onboarding and servicing, strengthened controls, and reduced manual administration.

Second, we reshaped our FX processing model by moving to a more streamlined, unified one-bank platform, strengthening straight-through processing, improving trade capture and lifecycle management, and enhancing accuracy through better automation and exception handling.

Third, to prepare for shorter settlement cycles, we implemented T-day booking for Hong Kong equities, building on the U.S. and Canada rollouts in 2024. This shortened the booking cycle and enabled faster portfolio updates for clients as more markets move toward accelerated settlement.

In parallel, we kept pace with rising regulatory demands by upgrading and strengthening reporting across EMIR, MAS, and HKMA, improving infrastructure and data quality to support accuracy and compliance.

As with any transformation, we encountered early system and workflow stabilisation challenges. We addressed these through close cross-team coordination, temporary workarounds, and tighter monitoring to protect service quality while fixes and enhancements were delivered.

These lessons are shaping our 2026 focus: completing remaining platform enhancements, expanding coverage, and using the stronger foundations to further automate processes, lift productivity, and deepen client servicing, while staying agile and ready for an increasingly complex cross-border regulatory environment.

Q2: The cost-to-income ratio is a key metric for assessing bank performance. What range do you consider optimal, and how is the bank managing the cost side – across investments, real estate, and other operating expenses – to maintain efficiency and competitiveness in the region? 

The cost-to-income ratio is an important benchmark for evaluating performance, but the “optimal” range depends on the bank’s strategy and where it is in its investment cycle. A ratio that is too low can indicate under-investment, while a ratio that is too high can signal insufficient cost discipline. The key is maintaining the right balance, this means supporting sustainable revenue growth while managing costs responsibly. We also focus not only on the headline number, but on what is driving any changes.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management has committed significant resources to a comprehensive, multi-year global transformation program. While this initiative requires meaningful investment today, it is designed to deliver sustained efficiency gains and long-term cost savings, alongside important enhancements to our operating platform and controls.

In parallel, we are optimising our real estate footprint across major Asian locations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and India, to ensure our workspace remains aligned with operational needs and long-term efficiency objectives.

Finally, we are strengthening scalability through continued investment in offshore operations. Years of close collaboration with our team in India have enhanced capacity and technical expertise, and we will continue to expand this capability so onshore teams can focus on higher-value, strategic, and more complex activities, supporting growth while maintaining efficiency.