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Barclays Plc sees the Asia Pacific as a key area for further investment and hiring amid a wealth boom and buoyant capital markets, according to the British bank’s regional head.
“We have been hiring in both Japan and India, in our markets business and our investment banking business,” Jaideep Khanna told Haslinda Amin in a Bloomberg TV interview in Singapore on Thursday. Asia Pacific “is a destination for further investment.”
The London-based bank joined other global banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in posting higher profits in Japan earlier this year as fixed-income trading surged. India, another regional bright spot, is where Barclays has built a strong footprint which has enabled the firm to have an edge amid the thriving economy and stock markets.
“India has seen an explosion in the wealth management business as the economy has grown and wealth has been created,” Khanna said. “There’s been a need for help to manage that out of China, Southeast Asia. There’s been a strong growth.”
Barclays is facing stiff competition in India where local banks and international players are vying to serve one of the fastest growing wealth markets. The firm said in July it has planned to expand the wealth team threefold in India and Singapore as it aims to quadruple its private banking assets in the region by the end of 2028.
Khanna declined to give specifics on headcount projections.
In Japan, the bank’s brokerage unit posted a record profit as the nation’s historic shift in monetary policy revived volatility. Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, Barclays has teamed up with Barrenjoey in Australia, which has gone from startup to a profitable multi-service financial firm in a matter of years.
Chief Executive Officer C.S. Venkatakrishnan unveiled a multi-year plan to boost returns at Barclays in February by increasing investment into its UK operations while focusing on more profitable businesses and clients in its investment bank.
(Adds details throughout on the firm’s Asia Pacific business)
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