SINGAPORE - HSBC Private Banking on Tuesday (Sept 24) announced the expanded role of Cynthia Lee as regional head of private wealth solutions (PWS) for Asia-Pacific (APAC), based in Hong Kong, as well as the appointment of Steven Weekes as head of PWS for South-east Asia, based in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Michelle Lau, also based in Singapore, has moved to a new role within HSBC Private Banking as managing director of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) and family office strategic services, South-east Asia.
Ms Lee's role will be expanded to cover the larger region of APAC, in order to build on PWS's support for a growing number of HSBC Group-connected clients. Ms Lee joined HSBC as head of PWS for North Asia in January 2019.
This change means PWS's structure will mirror that of private banking, the largest contributor of referrals for the business, HSBC said on Tuesday.
Ms Lee will continue to report to Alan Beattie, global head of PWS at HSBC. She was formerly at JP Morgan where she was most recently head of wealth advisory for Asia. She has more than 20 years of wealth advisory experience, focusing on private clients and families.
Meanwhile, Mr Weekes joined HSBC after 23 years at Citi Private Bank.
He was most recently Citi's head of international fiduciary services based in Zurich, Switzerland, leading a global team. Before that, Mr Weekes was Citi's regional trust head for Asia, responsible for wealth planning for private banking clients in Asia, with a focus on next-generation and wealth transfer planning. He has also held other trust, private banking and business advisory roles at Citi and KPMG.
Mr Weekes will report to Ms Lee. He takes over the role of head of PWS for South-east Asia from Ms Lau.
In her new position, Ms Lau will drive further development in South-east Asia of HSBC Private Banking's UHNW proposition, services for family offices, and global connectivity.
HSBC said on Tuesday that it is aiming to "significantly" expand its Asian private banking business over the next five years, including PWS. HSBC Private Banking has been growing its Asia team, with a focus on Greater China and South-east Asia.
