HSBC relaunches 'Premier' brand in UK in pursuit of wealthy clients

By Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC is relaunching its 'Premier' wealth banking brand in Britain, targeting so-called mass affluent customers who have between 100,000 and 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) to invest.

Jose Carvalho, HSBC UK's head of wealth and personal banking, told Reuters that its fee-free Premier product will offer 24-hour-a-day customer service, financial planning tools, as well as travel, international and lifestyle benefits.

HSBC aims to double assets under management in its British wealth business to 100 billion pounds ($126 billion) in the next five years, Reuters reported in August.

The relaunch of Premier joins similar rollouts in Hong Kong and Singapore, said Carvalho, with HSBC eventually planning to offer the new services worldwide.

"We think there is substantial growth for us into that segment of 16.5 million customers in Britain, which is going to grow to probably close to 18 million in two or three years' time," Carvalho added.

HSBC's current market share among such customers is only around 1 million, he said in his first interview since HSBC's new CEO Georges Elhedery took the reins in September.

Carvalho said HSBC is planning to open a new flagship wealth centre next year in London's affluent Mayfair district, adding that HSBC would recoup the costs of investment in Premier over time, with its customers buying more products such as wealth management services, mortgages and credit cards.

Rivals including Barclays and Lloyds have signalled similar aspirations to grow wealth management, as banks worldwide seek to grow fee income to offset shrinking revenue from loans as global interest rates fall.

However, HSBC has ruled out charging a fee for the product, Carvalho said, confirming media reports the bank is hiring hundreds of new relationship managers for the relaunch.

HSBC's push into British wealth banking, targeting in particular internationally-minded customers who want round-the-clock service wherever they are as well as travel and other perks, plays into the bank's broader strategy, Carvalho said.

Elhedery is pursuing a major restructuring of HSBC into four divisions and a geographical revamp along East-West lines.

The reorganisation is expected to lead to hundreds of middle management layoffs, with cuts likely to be announced before the end of year, recent media reports said.

($1 = 0.7917 pounds)

(Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by Sinead Cruise and Alexander Smith)