The number of single-family offices (SFOs) in Hong Kong has increased by around 25% over the past two years as the Asian financial hub continues to see strong growth momentum for its wealth management industry. Hong Kong has attracted an additional 681 SFOs to establish their businesses in the city since the end of 2023, when there were 2703 family […]

The post Hong Kong family office boom: New SFOs jump 25% in two years appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

As Asia’s single-family offices (SFOs) embrace digital transformation, their top concern isn’t portfolio returns – it’s protection. A growing number of SFOs in the region, particularly in wealth hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore, are prioritising cybersecurity and risk controls as they modernise their operations, according to a recent industry report. The findings from Deloitte Private’s Family Office Insights Series: […]

The post Asia’s single-family offices put security first in digital push appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Hong Kong plans to grant tax concessions to investments including virtual assets and private credit for fund managers and family offices, a move that industry experts said will help to boost the city’s attractiveness as an asset and wealth management hub. The city’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau at the end of November issued a consultation paper on enhancements […]

The post “On par with Singapore”: Hong Kong boosts tax breaks for private credit appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Hong Kong is amping up its efforts to attract the world’s ultra-rich to set up family offices in the city with an upcoming event featuring big names, spanning from a US basketball legend to a renowned Italian fashion mogul. High-profile speakers at the Wealth For Good summit, which is slated for March 27, include Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chair of Walt […]

The post NBA legend to private banking veterans: HK lines up heavyweights for family office summit appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Hong Kong’s insurance market has shrunk by almost 40% over the last two years after COVID-19 travel restrictions choked off the flow of U/HNWIs from mainland China to the city, according to a study. The survey by Deloitte and BOC Life, published on Friday, found that the value of new standard premiums was HK$79 billion in 2021. That was a […]

The post Hong Kong insurance market shrinks by 40% as wealthy mainland Chinese vanish appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Private banks have been enthusiastic in persuading bankers to document all communications they have with clients through online channels, to be sure to satisfy regulatory requirements. But clients, especially in mainland China, have been reluctant to embrace digital communications that leave an audit trail. Traditionally a face-to-face business, where digital communication tools were not considered value-drivers or business-enablers, private banking […]

The post Privacy concerns drive reluctance of wealthy clients to have all communications with PBs documented appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Substantially increasing the individual investment quota of the cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect (WMC) scheme will be key to developing interest in the platform among private banks, according to a survey by Asian Private Banker. However, industry executives are downbeat about the prospect of this happening soon. The survey, which was completed by attendees of Asian Private Banker‘s GBA Connect 2022 […]

The post Larger individual investment quota needed to spark PB interest in WMC: APB survey appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) looks set to yield lucrative opportunities for the region’s wealth management industry in the coming years, according to leading private banking and investment executives — even if questions remain how best to capitalise on them in the short term. At Asian Private Banker’s GBA Connect 2022 forum on Thursday, private bankers, asset managers […]

The post Lucrative opportunities for private banks but challenges ahead: GBA CONNECT 2022 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has stated that a key supervisory focus in 2021 will remain AML/CFT regtech adoption. On Thursday, HKMA issued its first report AML/CFT Regtech: Case Studies and Insights drawn from the AML/CFT regtech adoption experiences of six banks, each at different stages of their regtech journey. The report describes and analyses the banks’ AML/CFT regtech […]

The post HKMA to remain focused on AML regtech adoption in 2021 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers on and offices have been forced into the largest global work-from-home experiment ever, what has been the impact on the PB industry? In the first part of a series, we consider how investing by PBs in digital transformation has shown its worth in this pandemic. “Private banking is a people business. No travel means being unable […]

The post Braving the storm (Part 1): Digitally-enabled PBs earn clients’ trust in COVID-19 pandemic appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

To combat financial crime more effectively, financial institutions and fintechs should collaborate and involve regulatory watchdogs early in their transformation journeys, Deloitte told Asian Private Banker. “Financial institutions and fintechs should partner rather than compete. They also need to bring regulators along their innovation journey from the outset,” said Radish Singh, Southeast Asia financial crime compliance leader at Deloitte. According to Singh, […]

The post Banks, fintechs should partner rather than compete to fight financial crime: Deloitte appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Current legacy AML solutions used by banks are rule-based systems that provide only basic coverage limited to the scope of the rules, said Singaporean AML regtech provider Tookitaki. According to the firm, which derives its name from the Bengali term for ‘hide and seek’, fraudsters and money launderers who are aware of these rules are able to exploit these systems […]

The post Machine learning essential for sustainable AML compliance programs: Tookitaki appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The increased application of machine learning — the mechanism that underlies artificial intelligence (AI) — is likely to raise cybersecurity concerns for private banks as it functions best in a public cloud environment. However, with the proper precautions taken, private banks can help their machines learn without exposing themselves to too much risk, an expert has explained to Asian Private […]

The post How to train your AI: Expert chimes in on proper public cloud usage for PBs appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and reporting obligations are raising the costs of running private banks without necessarily minimising the risks associated with money laundering and tax evasion, according to a financial crime expert at Deloitte. A high level of privacy alongside large transactions means private clients often have to adhere to additional regulations — such as enhanced due diligence, ultimate […]

The post Private banking compliance comes with its own risks: Deloitte appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

IPOs are a great starting point for building relationships with HNWIs and have the potential to extend to a variety of family service offerings, according to Peter Lee, a partner at Deloitte Private. “An IPO is often an important milestone in wealth creation, and it is also where we come into play, starting from advising in the IPO of either the […]

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Wealthy Chinese investors are considering how best to structure their assets in preparation for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regime, tax consultants and lawyers tell Asian Private Banker, noting three strategies in particular that clients are turning to. Industry experts say that wealthy individuals need to be proactive in their planning, especially since CRS will be implemented retrospectively and considering […]

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To quote the HKMA’s Norman Chan, we are in the midst of the “dog days of summer”, and watchdogs have indeed been slower at rolling out new regulations and circulars. Earlier this week, however, lawyers spoke with Asian Private Banker on a precedent-setting judgement from the Hong Kong Court of Appeal, was the first ever ruling of its kind in favour of investors, who […]

The post August Regulatory Round-up: precedent-setting mis-selling ruling; cybersecurity a concern; CRS less so appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The fact that private banks tend to have less IT infrastructure relative to retail banks and insurers “can be a positive and a negative”, according to Kevin Nixon, global & Asia Pacific leader at Deloitte’s Centre for Regulatory Strategy. On the one hand, having a smaller IT footprint means fewer points of entry for hackers, Nixon tells Asian Private Banker. “But […]

The post Lack of IT infrastructure a double-edged sword for private banks, says consultant appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

As financial institutions are “heavily influenced” by each other when it comes to cyber risk management, information sharing between all stakeholders is needed to ensure a resilient cyber ecosystem, according to a report by Deloitte. “Although cyber threats cut across borders, cyber security regulation in the APAC region remains fractured and localised, with no significant moves toward harmonisation,” the report […]

The post Banks should share information to tackle cyber risks: Deloitte appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The common reporting standard (CRS) regime will be positive for private banks and far less onerous than many in the industry expect, according to Pictet Wealth Management’s APAC CEO, Claude Haberer. Haberer told Asian Private Banker that CRS will be “very simple” for private banks, whose only obligation is to inform local authorities about clients’ tax information. Advertisement A spokesperson […]

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