Stephanie Li

William Fok, country head of HSBC Private Bank in Thailand, is making no secret of his ambitions: he wants to turn the British banking giant into the country's dominant private bank, and he is restructuring the local business to do it. Just five months into the role, Fok is already shifting the bank's lean Bangkok operation into growth mode. To…

Taiwanese lender Taishin International Bank has appointed KGI Securities' former head of wealth management to lead its onshore investment strategy and advisory team for its private banking business. Jeffrey Juan joined Taishin International Bank as senior vice president on 2 July 2026, Asian Private Banker has learned. Jeffrey Juan, Taishin International Bank In his new role, he will head the…

Taiwan's E.SUN Bank is shifting its private banking strategy away from traditional, product-driven asset growth toward holistic balance sheet management while actively preparing to launch local private banking operations in Hong Kong. The structural shift comes as the bank captures strong domestic momentum. For its onshore private banking business, both client count and assets under management (AUM) achieved nearly 10%…

Macquarie Asset Management is drawing up a shortlist of distributors and strategic partners in Asia after the exclusive launch of its new infrastructure fund saw overwhelming demand from a global private bank. The official launch of the Macquarie Infrastructure Income Opportunities Fund took place in January 2026, with a global private bank secured as its exclusive anchor investor, followed by…

CIMB Bank Berhad has launched a dedicated private wealth offering aimed at capturing a larger share of affluent clients across Southeast Asia. The Malaysian universal bank announced the launch of CIMB Private Wealth on Monday, which seeks to address the changing needs of clients through an advisory-led model built around curated wealth solutions, institutional-grade treasury and partner capabilities spanning both…

SCB Julius Baer is targeting a five-year revenue shift, transitioning Thai clients from tactical trading and single equities into recurring fee-based managed solutions, aiming to reduce its reliance on transaction fees. “Historically, Thai clients have favoured tactical trading and single equities, making the portfolios and the firm's growth highly market-dependent. We are actively working to shift this trajectory toward managed…

After hitting a six-year low of just US$99 billion in 2024, global private infrastructure fundraising staged a massive comeback, surging past US$250 billion excluding co-investments in 2025. This sharp recovery, tracked by S&P Global's With Intelligence, highlights a structural shift: institutional and individual allocators are increasingly demanding exposure to real-world physical assets over software-heavy direct lending strategies. Private banks and…

Following a US$330 million fine in May 2026 on three brokerages for illegal cross-border trading, Beijing's rising scrutiny has prompted a quiet retreat among some of Hong Kong's private banks. By early June, several global private banks began deferring mainland events and tightening travel reviews, opting for caution as capital controls intensified. Niki Wu, Morningstar The regulatory moves against illegal…

As the Philippines prepares for a projected 63% surge in its billionaire population over the next five years, international private banks are doubling down on offshore capture. According to Knight Frank's 2026 Wealth Report, the country's ultra high net worth population is set to expand by 49% to 2,844 by 2031, placing it among the fastest-growing wealth creation markets globally….

Private banking client inflows into hedge funds at DBS Bank in the first six months of 2026 have already eclipsed the total recorded for all of last year, driven by wealthy Asian investors pivoting toward alternative strategies to bolster portfolio resilience. The surge reflects a broader portfolio pivot as clients seek to manage tech concentration risks and buffer against persistent…