HONG KONG – The competition among global banks for Hong Kong’s US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) of private wealth is intensifying.

Wall Street titans and regional heavyweights such as UBS Group, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, DBS Group Holdings and China Construction Bank are aggressively expanding their headcount in 2026, with plans to hire hundreds of private bankers to cater to high net-worth individuals.