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BNP Paribas boosts private banking

BNP Paribas SA, the biggest French bank by market value, boosted revenue from Asian private banking by 47 percent to US$84 million in the first half of this year, spurred by rapid economic growth and rising affluence in the region.

"Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India were all contributors in terms of new assets managed," Michel Longhini, chief executive officer of Private Bank Asia Pacific at the Paris-based lender, told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday.

"It's a strong confirmation for us to continue to invest" in Asia, he added.

The roster of millionaires in Asia grew 8.6 percent last year, the World Wealth Report issued last month by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co showed. Singapore and India led the world with jumps of 21 percent each in their populations of millionaires.

The report defines millionaires as individuals with net assets of US$1 million or more, excluding main residence and consumer goods.

BNP Paribas will increase hiring more than 20 percent this year to cater to the growing Asian market for private banking, Longhini said. That builds on a 30 percent expansion last year.

The bank will continue to focus on hiring in Hong Kong to meet the needs of wealthy Chinese in the city and the mainland, where it began private-banking services with a staff of 16 in October, he said.

BNP Paribas' private bank has increased assets managed in Asia by 27 percent annually, to US$25 billion in the first half of this year, a pace likely to continue for the next few years, Claude Haberer, chief executive officer of the unit's Hong Kong and North Asia business, said at the briefing.

The bank's applications for local incorporation in China are "well on the way," Haberer said, opening the door for BNP Paribas to win more of that nation's US$2.2 trillion of household savings.

Citigroup Inc, the world's biggest financial services firm, along with HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered Plc and Bank of East Asia Ltd, became incorporated in China in April.

BNP Paribas Private Bank manages US$200 billion from operations in 30 countries, with 12 percent from Asia.
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