The largest bank in Europe, HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) has set it’s aim on the U.S. market, in particular, high new worth customers. Andy Ireland, head of the American wealth unit said the firm has plans to more than double it’s stable of U.S. premier banking customers by 2013, to 1 million.
Premier customers are defined by HSBC as customers whose deposits and investment balances total at least $100,000. Currently, the firm has 450,000 premier U.S. clients. In an interview at HSBC’s New York office, Ireland commented “It’s a core focus for the bank globally.” The currently London based firm estimated that there are 25 million potential customers in this category, also whom are internationally minded and often travel abroad.
Part of the bank’s strategy is catering to the often-traveling client, as the bank lets premier customers open accounts at HSBC branches around the world and transfer their credit history when arriving in a new country to make them immediately eligible for loans or mortgages. Through this, their customers also receive better currency exchange rates, are not charged fees for the services as long as they maintain the minimum balance of $100,000, and eligible for other perks the firm offers.
While HSBC has overtly expressed their plans, Swiss based UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) is also seeking market share growth in the Americas. The largest Swiss bank has opened new wealth management offices in New York, and plans continued headcount growth in the region. Amid this jockeying for position, competition will only increase for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and the choices and services customers should receive in the coming years as a result should only increase.
