Swiss private bank Edmond de Rothschild closing in HK: sources

Hong Kong

SWISS private bank Edmond de Rothschild is closing its Hong Kong operations, according to three people familiar with the matter, more than two decades after it opened shop in the former British territory and as costs in the wealth management industry bite.

The Geneva-based bank and money manager, which had 167 billion Swiss francs (S$235.1 billion) of assets under management at end-June 2016, has already surrendered its China operating licence and will run its Japan and South Korea operations through its Swiss head office. "This is part of a return to Europe strategy due to rising cost pressures," said one of the people familiar with the matter who declined to be named.