SC Bank Korea, the Seoul subsidiary of London-based Standard Chartered Group, is putting asset management at the center of its retail finance business.

In order to provide universal wealth management services to a wider range of consumers, the bank has secured about 30 additional specialists to the wealth management sector this year.

The traditional profit structure of Korean banks is nearly 90 percent reliant on interest margins, but SC aims to break that structure by making 40 percent of its profit from other sources by 2021.

Currently, wealth management accounts for 12 percent of the bank’s total profit. It aims to raise the percentage to 25 percent as well.

In order to meet this goal, SC has been providing consumers with advisory services by communicating with investment strategists working in different regions under the group. 

Since SC does not own an investment management affiliate, the bank said it was able to provide objective and systematic recommendations of investment products.

SC Group’s Global Investment Committee annually sets the group’s guidelines and strategies for investment based on macroeconomic conditions of the global economy.

Of around 10,000 investment products that are closely examined and chosen by the group-level strategists, the investment product team at SC Bank Korea makes careful recommendations for Korean consumers. 

For the convenience of consumers, the bank runs Bank Shops at Shinsegae Department Store and E-mart branches to provide wealth management services during weekends and weekday evenings.

SC Bank Korea also holds as many as 400 seminars on wealth management every year by inviting global investment strategists, including ones on global market conditions, taxation and wealth care strategies.      By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)