The onshore China private banking market has proven a tough one to crack for international firms, with many believing the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. However, HSBC, tempted by a wealth market simply too big to ignore, has made no secret of its efforts over the past three years to expand its services into the mainland market.

Having now developed an enlarged and enriched platform, HSBC aims to grab an even greater market share from local players with deeper onshore penetration and enhanced services, according to the man tasked with cracking the trillion-dollar opportunity.

“Our differentiation from our peers and our ambition have been very clear. We are not only the largest foreign bank or private bank, but also now a dominant wealth player in mainland China onshore,” Jackie Mau, head of Global Private Banking, HSBC China, told Asian Private Banker in a recent interview.

In mainland China in 2024, the UK lender saw invested assets grow by 61% year-on-year for its wealth business, according to Mau. The industry veteran, who won the Private Banker of the Year award at APB’s 7th China Wealth Awards, added that the bank’s AUM and business enjoyed stable growth even during the market volatility in April and May this year.

The sound performance, in Mau’s view, comes down to the fact that the bank has been building a fully-fledged wealth management solution in mainland China. In addition to enhancing its family trust advisory services and digital capabilities, the bank now offers more than 700 exclusively selected local and global funds across different strategies to help clients with global asset allocation, Mau said.

“In mainland China, we also fully unlocked the synergies within the whole HSBC Group spanning from asset management to insurance, from bank fintech to securities, to devise bespoke solutions for high net worth clients over the past two years,” he told APB. Collaboration with the group’s corporate and institutional banking business connects Chinese companies to its global network, helping them ‘go global,’ according to Mau.

Mau observed that clients have shown improved investment sentiments towards the domestic market since the start of this year, as reflected in the rising transaction volumes of local investment products on the bank’s own platform and A-shares transactions through its strategic partnership with HSBC Qianhai Securities.

AUM at China’s top 20 private banks grew by 12.1% year-on-year in 2024, reaching RMB 26,513.5 trillion (US$3.67 trillion), according to APB Insights. This figure surpassed the US$3.26 trillion AUM managed by the industry in Asia outside China.

Product enhancements

The bank has been focusing on the alternative investment space through China’s QDII and QDLP schemes. Mau said the bank’s product shelf is now diversified with trust funds invested in private equity, distressed credit, long-short strategies and multi-asset allocations.

“Clients are more conscious of risk diversification for both their business and personal wealth investments amid a changing macroeconomic backdrop. Alternative investment can serve as a helpful tool for them amid market volatilities,” he said.

The key differentiation that HSBC GPB makes, according to Mau, is the access to leading global asset managers for clients’ onshore RMB assets. “These managers are keen to partner with us exclusively because of our strong capability in distribution and targeting the right high net worth clients,” he explained.

On structured products, which have been gaining popularity among wealth clients, Mau said the bank now offers products linked to US equity, Hong Kong equity, indexes, as well as commodities, meeting a variety of risk profiles and target returns for different investors.

Deepening market penetration

For the bank, HNWIs and entrepreneur type of clients are two engines of growth. Eastern China, including Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces, currently contributes the most AUM of HSBC GPB China, according to Mau. He added that this year, he has doubled the team in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province, and home to artificial intelligence dark horse DeepSeek.

HSBC also opened a wealth centre with on-site private bankers in Hangzhou this April. Through this hub and its enlarged team, Mau said the bank has been expanding its coverage into surrounding affluent cities, including Suzhou, Ningbo and Nanjing.

“In the six big cities with our coverage network, we continue to grab more market share from local players. Meanwhile, we are expanding and deepening key client relationships very quickly in other key mainland cities. I think this is something that stands out from any other foreign players,” he said.

Closer to HSBC’s home market in Hong Kong, Mau said the Greater Bay Area, including Shenzhen, is also a key market where his team continues to acquire new clients, often young, rich families with demands for wealth management, cross-border lifestyles, international education and mobility, as well as healthcare. Mau said the bank has thus launched a wide range of value-added services last year, especially tailored for GBA clients.

“Our global market insights are also one of the differentiators to local players. What clients want is no longer simply the return from a product. It’s about our professional handholding throughout the investment journey, especially amid market uncertainties. This is what builds clients’ trust in us,” he told APB.