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THE
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., one of the
leading players in the country’s banking sector, has
relaunched its Power Vantage (PVA) product, a junior
wealth management proposition for individuals who want
to build their fortune.
Under
the new PVA, clients would need to maintain a minimum
balance of P100,000 through a combination of deposits
such as savings or current account, time deposits and
investments.
“It
supports clients on their journey to wealth building by
providing insights into their portfolio and making
available choice- investment products. With PVA,
individuals who do not necessarily fit under the high
net worth individual [HNWI] category get to experience
the financial services that are usually reserved only
for HNWIs,” Nanoo told the BusinessMirror.
PVA is a
relationship account and is positioned below the bank’s
Premiere Account, which caters to the high-end clients.
“Just go
to any HSBC branch and avail yourselves of the free
financial-health check. Our personal banking officers
would look at the client’s net worth and based on that
portfolio, we would provide a menu of solutions
depending on the client’s profile,” says Nanoo.
With the
PVA account, the clients would have the power of choice.
They would have the access to a wider range of
world-class investment and deposit products so they can
invest according to their savings goals and capacity for
risk or open accounts in local or foreign currencies.
Under
HSBC’s earlier PVA scheme, customers could open various
types of deposit accounts without having to maintain
minimum balances on each one because the product worked
on a Total Relationship Balance basis. This is unlike
other banks’ offers wherein separate minimum balances
are required for a checking account and a savings
account.
“Despite
the uniqueness of the offer, however, we found through
research that the concept is not easily comprehended and
does not carry much relevance to an audience that
desires to grow their funds,” Nanoo said.
From
focus group discussions, HSBC also discovered that many
Filipinos within the target segment are looking to save
up a substantial amount to ensure that they have a
secure and comfortable future. However, information on
products that can improve their yields is not readily
available, and given their busy lifestyles, managing
their wealth oftentimes takes the backseat.
To
bridge the gap, it identified the need to provide this
segment with a wealth management type of banking
solution where a personal banking officer will assist
clients to understand the basics of financial planning
and also introduce nontraditional deposit and investment
products.
The
vision is that by starting people out on wise money
management via PVA, they will eventually attain
financial stability and freedom and may move up to
Premier status.
“By
re-launching PVA as a junior wealth management solution,
it complements Premier which is suited for HNWIs. HSBC
effectively provides wealth management services at all
levels of financial maturity,” said Nanoo.
HSBC
intends to grow the PVA segment aggressively and is
planning to launch educational campaigns to develop
public awareness not only about their products but the
benefits of saving.
“People
should start thinking about these things because it is
really important,” he said. |
