Barclays Bolsters Hong Kong Private Banking Team With Senior Banker Hire

Chien will report to Rickie Chan, Market Head of Hong Kong.

Chien brings with her over 20 years of private banking experience. She joins from EFG Bank in Hong Kong, where she was team head responsible for serving high net worth clients in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Before that, she worked in various financial institutions including UBS and Goldman Sachs, serving ultra high net worth clients.

Her appointment further strengthens Barclays’ coverage of the Hong Kong market, and follows from the appointment of Chan who was appointed Market Head of Hong Kong in August 2012. Under the leadership of Pakorn Boonya-kurkul who joined as Head of Wealth Management, North Asia, in May 2011, Barclays has grown its North Asia banker teams considerably, with more than 50% of its bankers now at a senior level.

Boona-kurkul said, 'Markets continue to be challenging and having a strong team of senior bankers is critical to helping clients navigate these times of volatility. We have seen significant traction in our strategy of 'inverting the banker pyramid' in Hong Kong as we focus on the hiring of senior bankers with more than 15 years of industry experience. This group of bankers has been attracted by both the platform we offer as well as an entrepreneurial culture in which they can provide the best products and solutions to meet the needs of their sophisticated clients. Adeline brings with her an in-depth understanding of sophisticated high net worth clients, and her addition to the team will further strengthen our outreach and service to clients'.

These recent senior appointments further signal Barclays’ commitment to continued expansion in North Asia following from the opening of its second Asian booking centre in Hong Kong in 2010. This has enabled Barclays to provide greater proximity to its clients and also paved the way for continued broadening of its product capabilities to target wealthy Asian clients. Barclays had also set up a Greater China desk in Singapore in October last year, to offer clients across the sub-region the option of booking their assets in Singapore.