Intense Competition Among Foreign Banks Targeting High Net Worth Individuals in China

An illustration depicting the intense competition faced by foreign banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan to gain business from high net worth individuals in China. It shows these banks assisting customers in buying shares in the Hong Kong stock market, real estate in the United States, and art collections in Europe. However, as the economies of mainland China and the Hong Kong stock market trend downward, these banks' business models are under stress. High net worth investors from China are becoming more risk-averse, favoring putting their funds in safer investment channels like deposit accounts. A fraction of these investors are shown to be more open to accepting more balanced, medium-risk investment portfolios. On the sideline, a news report mentions the rapid increase in US interest rates in recent years, attracting these wealthy individuals with attractive returns for minimal risk as they deposit their money in US banks for a 7% interest return. Additionally, data indicates that last year, over 47,000 super-wealthy individuals in China had a net worth exceeding $30 million USD, although there was a 7% reduction in the number of these super wealthy individuals. Facing economic downturn, these wealthy individuals are shown gradually changing their asset allocation. A chart from a Chinese commercial bank shows that over the past three years, the proportion of cash and deposits held by these wealthy individuals has been increasing, with some showing a preference for buying gold.