Hong Kong

HSBC and BOC locked their rates at 1.68% which is lower than the industry standard of 2.15%.

The bank self-reported its various internal control and systems failures to the regulator.

No thanks to higher funding required for retail deposits.

It also names Tony Tan as director, head of strategic lending in Asia and head of lending Southeast Asia and South Asia.

These will facilitate loss absorption and recapitalization in case of bank failure.

The plan has a fixed rate of 1.68% p.a. for the first year.

He was previously Citi's CEO for China.

It provides general banking services to public housing residents.

The forecast rose from 7.5% as lending to private companies grew.

Chatbots ‘HARO’ and ‘DORI’ are now ready to serve. Hang Seng banks spearheads the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for retail banking services in Hong Kong with the launch of their two chatbots, HARO and DORI. Using AI technologies including machine learning and natural language processing, the two virtual assistants are able to simulate human-like contextual conversations and interact with customers. They can communicate in Chinese and English, and can also understand Cantonese as well as the mixing of English and Chinese. Through interacting with customers, HARO and DORI will continuously improve their ability to address customer enquiries. Reflecting the service objectives of ‘Helpful; Attentive; Responsive; Omni’, HARO will be available through hangseng.com and the Hang Seng Personal Banking mobile app from 10 January 2018. Covering the Bank’s mortgage, personal loan, credit card, medical insurance and travel insurance services, HARO will handle general enquiries about the products and services, help customers identify suitable products and provide application information. HARO can also assist customers with calculating repayment amounts for designated personal and mortgage loans. DORI (‘Dining; Offers; Rewards; Interactive’) will be launched on 11 January 2018. Available through Facebook Messenger, DORI can search and suggest credit card merchant discounts, and dining and online store offers that suit the personal preferences and lifestyles of customers. DORI can also make reservations for customers at selected restaurants. Additional features will be added to the service scope of HARO and DORI in 2018.  

Major conference on AI and Sentiment Analysis in Finance, Hong Kong, 7-8 March 2018.

Banks will continue to develop the use of technology and data analytics for AML.

Their portfolios are becoming more global.

Hong Kong will be the first and biggest beneficiary of the trend.

Rudolf Hitsch has been appointed North Asia head, Jyrki Rauhio as South Asia head, and Akbar Shah as head of business development at Citi Private Bank.

Banks also need to prepare for increased competition from non-traditional players.