RBS Coutts targets wealthy Asian women
RBS Coutts, the interntaional private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, is launching a new initiative tailored to high net worth women in Asia.
The move, which follows in the footsteps of RBS' Coutt's UK-based sister firm, Coutts & Co, will be the first in specifically female-oriented banking service in the region.
The move comes after a study by the Centre for Economic Business Research which estimated that 53% of millionaires are likely to be female by 2020.
According to another study commissioned by RBS Coutts in 2008, the current penetration of the HNW woman segment - women with investible assets of more than $1m - by professional wealth managers is low. It stands at 26% in Hong Kong amounting to $40bn of assets under management; and 23% in Singapore totalling $16bn in assets currently under management.
The study shows that there is a large untapped market, potentially worth approximately $55bn in Singapore and $112bn in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has more than double the number of HNW women compared with Singapore. It is estimated that there are some 16,000 HNW women in Singapore with an average net worth of $4.2m; and over 37,000 HNW women in Hong Kong with an average net worth of US$4.4m, according to the study.
Esther Heer, head of private banking, North Asia at RBS Coutts, said: “Having lived and worked in Hong Kong for over 20 years, I have seen the number of high net worth women in Asia increase dramatically. Successful career women are no longer a rare breed and their contributions to business and society have never been greater.”
She added: “Our study shows that high net worth women expect product offerings to be no different from those offered to their male counterparts, but they demand the approach in servicing them to be tailored to the needs of women. What this suggests, is that they wish to be treated like a man but spoken to like a woman,” said Heer.
Since Sarah Deaves joined Coutts & Co in 2002, later becoming chief executive in 2008, the Queen's bank has become renowned for its female-friendly services. Deaves this month stepped down from her role as CEO to move into RBS' affluent banking business.
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