Private banks turn to health, wellness and education offerings to stand out in wealth management

[SINGAPORE] As competition for clients intensifies, private banks in Singapore are providing lifestyle offerings for affluent clients beyond their traditional wealth-management services.

Healthcare access, concierge services and even education advisory are among the services they have rolled out.

The shift reflects how banks are trying to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded wealth management market and the race to attract and retain high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

In a survey of 100 HNWIs in Singapore by HSBC Life, 43 cited healthcare services as a priority. These respondents were part of a wider survey of 908 HNWIs in nine Asia-Pacific markets.

Michael Wei, chief partnership distribution officer at HSBC Life Singapore, said: “For high-net-worth families, wealth planning is about intention, continuity and long-term stewardship rather than short-term outcomes.”

With an eye on the long term, some private banks are betting on health and wellness offerings; others are focusing on family and next-generation services such as education planning.

HSBC Singapore on May 11 launched an integrated health, wellness and longevity offering for its Premier and Premier Elite clients.

This includes priority healthcare access through a round-the-clock concierge service run by private healthcare services provider IHH Healthcare, preventive care through tailored health-screening packages and longevity-focused wellness programmes.

Ashmita Acharya, head of international wealth and premier banking at HSBC Singapore, said that clients are increasingly taking a “more holistic view of wealth, looking beyond financial outcomes” towards “wellness and healthy longevity”.

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“With longer lifespans and rising healthcare expectations, clients are placing more emphasis on prevention, quality of care and longevity alongside retirement and legacy planning,” she added. 

HSBC Premier and Premier Elite customers must maintain a minimum total relationship balance of S$200,000 and S$1.2 million, respectively. 

Citigroup, meanwhile, has tied up with education consultancies Crimson Education, ED-SG and Onwards Education Consultancy to give its Citigold Private Client customers access to education planning services.

Clients can receive guidance on international education planning, programme selection and university admissions to universities around the world.

The partnerships, which began in March, run until the end of 2027.

Praise Tan, country manager of Crimson Education Singapore, said that the consultancy specialises in admissions to top US and UK universities, particularly the Ivy League and Oxbridge, although it also supports applications to other leading institutions globally.

She added that Crimson Education offers complimentary initial consultations to help families identify “the right fit and target schools”, and assess the prospective student’s profile to understand the level of admissions support needed.

While one session is “usually sufficient for an initial strategic overview and road map”, families hoping to land places in highly selective universities may require longer-term support focused on “academic planning, extracurricular strategy, university selection, essays, interview preparation and application management”, she said.

Gourab Kundu, head of digital growth and wealth continuum for Asia South at Citi Wealth, said the bank believes that supporting broader life goals fosters “emotional currency”, which helps in attracting and retaining clients. 

Citigold Private Client customers typically need to have at least S$1.5 million in assets under management.

OCBC has also expanded its offerings for affluent clients through its collaboration with insurance arm Great Eastern, with the launch of Great Eastern Private in March.

Susan Tan, head of group segment at OCBC, said the collaboration gives the bank’s Premier Banking and Premier Private Client customers with eligible Great Eastern policies access to “a curated suite of health and wellness benefits”, including tailored medical check-ups.

Great Eastern Private’s Private Client Privileges programme covers seven areas: next-generation leadership, family advisory and trust services, health and longevity, international tax advisory, legal advisory, philanthropy, and global lifestyle concierge services.

The insurer introduced the Hewton Fair Suite, a dedicated client space within Great Eastern Centre, for HNWIs.

The suite includes an on-site medical facility operated by Raffles Medical Group, which provides same-day health assessments along with healthy longevity and medi-wellness services.

Greg Hingston, group CEO of Great Eastern, said that Great Eastern Private aims to support clients “in every stage of life and across generations”.

To qualify for OCBC Premier Banking and Premier Private Client, customers must maintain assets under management of at least S$350,000 and S$1.5 million, respectively.

Private banks are likely to continue serving up such services.  

Kundu said that Citi clients have been very interested in the offerings; Acharya described the response of HSBC clients as “very encouraging”.

“Health and wealth will become a single, interconnected ecosystem, with longevity and preventive healthcare woven into wealth management,” Acharya added.