Canadian banks pin hopes on Asian market

TORONTO - A growing number of Canadian banks have been shifting their focus of expanding business via wealth management on to Asian market, given roiling European debt and banking crisis, along with a tepid global economic recovery.

Impressed by Asia's quick rebound from the global economic downturn that began in the year of 2008, many a Canadian bankers are confident Asia has great potential for developing lucrative wealth management business.

George Lewis, the Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management group head, told Xinhua in an interview via e-mail that Asia-Pacific region, home to the largest growing high-net-wealth individual ( HNWI) population (those with assets over $1 million), is becoming the driving force behind the global private banking industry's increasing interest for making investment.

According to Lewis, Asia, in particular, with more than 2 million people falling into the HNWI group, which is now second only after North America by the number of HNWI population in the world, will surpass North America to become the world's largest wealth management market over the next few years based on the speedy recovery of emerging markets from the economic crisis.

Customers in Asia with $1 million or more to invest will bring a lucrative market and considerable opportunities to the Royal Bank of Canada, said Lewis.

The Royal Bank of Canada, the largest Canadian lender by market capitalization, owns the largest wealth management business among Canadian lenders. Last month, it announced plans to focus on acquisitions in the Asian market and to rapidly increase their wealth management business in the same region.

The Royal Bank of Canada is not alone in its ambition to tap the vast business growth potential in Asia. Three other Canadian banks -- the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce -- have all bolstered their capabilities of private banking business in Asia since two years ago.

In a bid to remain active and to be able to respond to the Asian market needs quickly, the Royal Bank of Canada also created an emerging markets group and assigned a senior executive to be based in Asia back in 2010. The Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management has also have opened two offices in both Singapore and Hong Kong.

China is home to approximately half of Asia's HNWI population, said Lewis, who suggested the country be an important part of his bank's Asian market expansion strategy as more and more Chinese rich people are seeking international wealth management solutions.

The Royal Bank of Canada now manages about $20 billion assets for clients in Asia, which accounts for about one third of the bank's total volume of assets under administration in emerging markets.

"Our goal is to increase the portion from Asia to $50 billion by 2015, with approximately 50 percent being managed within the region itself," said Lewis in the e-mail.