Mr Carlos Vazquez, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Insurance (Singapore) said: “HSBC Singapore announced in September plans to double its wealth business across Private Banking and Retail Banking and Wealth Management over the next five years1. Key to our success will be having a strong suite of insurance products and solutions. It is equally important that we continue to maintain a robust risk management framework and widen our distribution network to deliver sustainable growth.”
“Pranshu, Leah and Grishma each brings significant industry experience and a strong track record in their respective field across actuarial functions, strategy and product development and sales distribution. Their invaluable market knowledge in this region, deep relationships, and all-round experience will drive our product development and distribution capabilities to their fullest potential.”
This year, HSBC has shared that Singapore is a large part of its global wealth-focused growth strategy. HSBC aims to grow wealth revenues in Asia by at least USD1 billion by 2020. Almost half of this revenue growth (USD400 million) will come from its insurance business.
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) plays a key role in contributing to this growth given its ability to tap Singapore’s strong reputation as a regional hub for the insurance and reinsurance industry in Asia. Latest studies have shown only 20% of Singaporeans have adequate critical illness protection coverage2 while offshore insurance is becoming a major driver of industry growth here3. As such, HSBC Insurance (Singapore) remains optimistic of the strong growth potential both in the domestic as well as the offshore market.
All new roles are based in Singapore and report to Carlos Vazquez, CEO of HSBC Insurance (Singapore).
Mr Pranshu Maheshwari, a seasoned actuary with more than 13 years of experience, was appointed Chief Actuary on 1 October 2018 and subsequently, Appointed Actuary on 26 November 2018, upon approval by the Monetary of Singapore.
Mr. Maheshwari has oversight of all actuarial matters including regulatory-related duties as well as heading the Actuarial department.
Mr Maheshwari joins from Aviva Asia where he was Regional Head of Actuarial & Capital, Asia and was involved in an array of Corporate Actuarial, Finance, Products, Investments and M&A related matters across Asia covering Singapore, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan markets.
Mr. Maheshwari is a Fellow member of Institute and Faculty of Actuaries UK, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India, Fellow member of Singapore Actuarial Society and Fellow member of Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Ms Leah Ng was appointed Chief Distribution Officer on 3 December 2018. Ms Ng has more than 15 years of specialised experience in life insurance and distribution management, bancassurance (across private, consumer and commercial banking), as well as Agency and Financial Adviser firms.
Prior to this, Ms Ng was Head of Wealth, Bancassurance at Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd where she headed up the high net worth insurance distribution for Singapore, in particular managing its exclusive partnership with a local bank.
Ms Ng is a graduate of the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
Ms Grishma Dalvi joined on 3 December as Head of Business Development. Ms Dalvi has over 15 years of experience working across Life and General Insurance organisations. She has led product development and distribution strategy functions. Ms Dalvi also has extensive experience in working with multiple distribution channels as well as managing customer research and innovation sessions to create market-leading insurance propositions.
In her last role as Head of Protection & Health Products at Manulife (Singapore), Ms Dalvi managed the development of a suite of competitive customer solutions for their multi-channel distribution network.
Ms Dalvi has a Masters in Business Management (Marketing) and Commerce (Management Accounting) from NMIMS and University of Mumbai, India respectively.
1 https://www.about.hsbc.com.sg/news-and-media/hsbc-singapore-sets-ambitious-plan-to-capture-asian-wealth
2 Life Insurance Association of Singapore 2017 Protection Gap Study
3 Willis Towers Watson Asia Insurance Market Report 2018
Note to editors:
About HSBC Insurance Singapore
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited, which is owned by HSBC Holdings plc, the London-based holding company of the HSBC Group. HSBC Insurance (Singapore) is a Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Tier-1 insurer, managing total assets of more than SGD8.1 billion with a 277% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2017. It provides a wide range of solutions that cater to retirement, protection, education, legacy planning, and wealth accumulation needs. It also has a fully digital platform, HSBC Insurance Online, that offers simple and value for money term-based life insurance products online.
About HSBC Singapore
HSBC Group’s history in Singapore dates back to 1877 when its founding member, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, opened its first branch on the island. A qualifying full bank, HSBC in Singapore offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services including retail banking and wealth management; commercial, investment and private banking; insurance; forfaiting and trustee services; securities and capital markets services. One of the earliest banks to establish in Singapore, HSBC today is a prominent player in Singapore's financial services sector serving the banking needs of multi-national corporations, home-grown businesses, private banking clients, institutional and retail customers. In May 2016, HSBC locally incorporated its retail banking and wealth management business in Singapore and established, HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited. Till this day, HSBC's flagship office remains at the original Collyer Quay site where its first branch was set up. HSBC Singapore has a retail network of 11 branches (of which 9 are dedicated HSBC Premier Centre) and many locations across the island providing self-service terminals.
About The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group, which serves our customers through four global businesses: Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Private Banking. The Group serves customers worldwide from approximately 3,800 offices in 66 countries and territories in our geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,603bn at 30 September 2018, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations
Media enquiries to:
Betty Fong, HSBC Singapore
+65 6658 4103
betty.c.y.fong@hsbc.com.sg