It is no secret that the key to success as a private banker in Asia is your network. But increasingly that concept has spread to the digital age, with the region’s top relationship managers, market heads and executives all seeking to expand their influence on social media.

That is most evident on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, which is home to a rich network of private bankers in Asia.

Below, Asian Private Banker reveals who are the most popular private bankers on LinkedIn in terms of numbers of followers and engagement, along with some of the secrets to their success.

1. Simon Clarke, managing director, Citi Private Bank (64,000~ followers)

2. James Cheo, chief investment officer, Southeast Asia and India, HSBC Global Private Banking (44,000~ followers)

3. Ken Shih, head of wealth management, Greater China, Saxo Markets (43,000~ followers)

4. Amy Lo, co-head wealth management Asia Pacific, UBS Global Wealth Management (32,000~ followers)

5. Lung-Nien Lee, chairman, Asia South, Citi Private Bank (30,000~ followers)

6. Gareth Nicholson, chief investment officer, Nomura International Wealth Management (28,000~ followers)

7. Sharon Sim, co-founder, Women in Family Offices (15,000~ followers)

8. Michael Blake, CEO Asia, UBP (12,000~ followers)

9. Kenneth Goh, senior client advisor, private wealth, UOB (10,000~ followers)

10. Lemuel Lee, Hong Kong site head, BNP Paribas Wealth Management (7,700~ followers)

Best of the rest

Among some of the other top private bankers who project influence over LinkedIn are: Evonne Tan, head of Barclays Private Bank Singapore (4,900~ followers); Jin Yee Young, co-head wealth management, Asia Pacific, UBS Global Wealth Management (4,500~ followers); Steven Lo, head of Citi Private Bank for North Asia and Australia (4,400~ followers); Chew Mun Yew, head of UOB Private Wealth (3,900~ followers); Jason Moo, global CEO, Bank of Singapore (3,500~ followers); and Arnaud Tellier, CEO Asia-Pacific, BNP Paribas Wealth Management (3,400~ followers).

Secrets to success

How can you get the most out of LinkedIn? Samuel Huen, global head of regulatory compliance at Bank of Singapore and an active LinkedIn user, explained the platform’s ins and outs to APB.

“I focus a lot on gratitude, on paying it forward. Whatever career advice I have benefited from along the way, I share it openly. This is an opportunity for me to share on a wider platform what I think might be helpful to some of the younger audience out there,” explained Huen.

Although a general rule for all lines of business, with trust and confidentiality being particularly important in private banking, users need to be careful what they share.

“Once it is out there, you can try to delete it seconds later, but others might have already reposted, or shared a screenshot,” said Huen.

And how best to deal with internet trolls?

“In such cases, instead of addressing them, I feel that one should have the discipline to remove certain comments and block those individuals, rather than engaging with them,” said Huen.

And how to bring the best engagement?

“If you share content from the bank, definitely also share your own thoughts and why it could be relevant,” suggested Huen. “There are many good examples on LinkedIn, look at the successful ones, how they represent themselves and how they feel authentic.”

Internal policies

On the one hand, banks want to encourage employees to use social media to expand their brand and demonstrate thought leadership. But at the same time, are way of the risks it can bring.

According to a Bank of Singapore spokesperson, while staff are seen as brand ambassadors and encouraged to share experiences, thoughts, insights and industry-related content on their personal LinkedIn profiles, the bank does not set any KPIs for bankers and maintains a set of social media policy and guidelines, such as refraining from disclosing confidential information and showing respect for copyright while safeguarding confidential and proprietary information.

UOB encourages employees to use the hashtag #lifeatUOB on LinkedIn. It also has a code of conduct guiding their social media use, according to Christine Ip, head of group strategic communications and brand. Staff are prohibited from sharing customer and partner information without their consent, in adherence with Banking Secrecy and Personal Data Protection Act requirements.