While other foreign banks have decided to exit the country’s retail banking space amid a banking turmoil that has affected global players, British banking giant HSBC is determined to do the opposite as it vowed further to strengthen its consumer banking business in the Philippines.
It can be recalled that earlier this year, Dutch financial institution ING and American bank Citi had already completed their exit from the retail banking space in the Philippines.
In a press release, Surendra Rosha, co-chief executive of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC), shared that the bank is keeping its retail banking segment in the country.
“Absolutely, we think that there is a continued opportunity for a bank of our footprint to have a wealth and personal banking operation in a market like the Philippines,” said Rosha. He added that in order to link them with its international footprint, “customers who would come to bank with us will be individuals who have accounts in other parts of the world.”
According to Rosha, some of their clients are Filipinos who have families abroad or have investments in other parts of the world and need to do cross-border transactions. “So, we appreciate that we play in a relatively niche space for the personal banking side. But we also think there was a fundamental reason for us to be confident of having a strong and thriving business.”
The HSBC press release further stated that the Philippines is a strategic growth market in Southeast Asia, given its status as a leading economy in the region and the second-largest population with one of the fastest-growing GDPs.
HSBC remains committed to consumer banking segment in PH
For his part, HSBC Philippines president and CEO Sandeep Uppal said that the bank had already shown its commitment to the consumer banking segment in the country when it introduced its wealth management arm to Filipinos in August last year.
The HSBC Investments and Insurance Brokerage, Philippines Inc. was launched in the country to offer a wide range of investment solutions and insurance plans to suit every customer’s needs throughout the different stages in their lives. It provides unit investment trust funds (UITFs) that cover an assortment of asset classes and risk profiles, allowing clients to create a diversified portfolio.
According to Uppal, these offerings complement the bank’s fixed-income investment and investment-linked insurance products.
To date, HSBC says that it is focused on further expanding and solidifying its roots in Southeast Asia and establishing itself as one of the leading international banks in the region. It endeavors to help current and prospective customers explore opportunities within ASEAN and open doors to further their wealth and business investments.
PH offers tremendous growth opportunities
At present, economic trends on rising consumption, rising production, and rising demand for services can be observed as the local economy bounces back post-COVID.
“Within the ASEAN context, the Philippines, on various parameters, is one of the leading markets,” Uppal said. He added that HSBC now also sees opportunities in the adoption of renewable energy and mobility through shifting to electric vehicles for mass transport.
In the end, both Uppal and Rosha have expressed confidence that the Philippine banking sector will remain solid and stable amid the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the U.S. and the crisis affecting Credit Suisse in Europe.