Each month, LuxeSF profiles a member of The Luxury Marketing Council. This month we talk with Rob Hunt, Vice President and Manager of the San Francisco Premier Center for HSBC Premier Banking, a global behemoth in financial services and growing presence in Bay Area banking, particularly with respect to affluent consumers.

LUXESF: Let’s start off with basic information on HSBC. Give me the headlines about the organization.

HUNT: The founding member of the HSBC Group, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. As our motto suggests, we are truly the “world's local bank.” Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. HSBC's international network comprises over 9,500 offices in more than 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa .

LUXESF: How big is HSBC in the U.S.?

HUNT: HSBC has more than 1,900 offices in the U.S. and is continuing to grow. These offices include operations for the U.S. banking operations, as well as consumer finance operations. There are more than 400 U.S. bank branches, including a small contingent on the West Coast. To give a sense of our growth, California over the last two years has grown from one branch to 20, spread between San Francisco and Los Angeles with plans to expand further in the next 12 months.

LUXESF: I’m seeing commercial lending signs going up around building sites in the San Francisco area with the HSBC logo.

HUNT: That’s true. Our Commercial Real Estate and Middle Markets Groups are financing some of the larger projects that you see around town.

LUXESF: Talk to us about the premier Banking Group, which you manage in San Francisco .

HUNT: Premier Banking at HSBC is much akin to private banking. It’s a global platform targeted at our high-net-worth affluent clients who tend to maintain higher deposit balances with us. What HSBC has done is recognized a group of clients, which we define as “mass-affluent.” These are not the super-affluent, mind you, who are traditionally housed by private bank units, but mass-affluent folks who generally fall into the mass market bank category and are very much under-appreciated by their bank.

LUXESF: What services are you providing in the Premier Banking group?

HUNT: The No. 1 benefit is the opportunity to work with a dedicated relationship manager, as well as a Premier team, to manage your banking affairs. As a Premier client at HSBC, you will be assigned a relationship manager to whom you have direct access for all your banking needs. No more waiting in teller lines or dealing with an anonymous voice over an 800 number. This individual you’ll be working with is typically more experienced and has access to sophisticated technology designed to enhance the client experience. That feature alone is of major value to Premier clients. And because we deal with a smaller, select group of clients, we have the time and ability to really focus on their needs. Let me explain. The Northern California Premier Center currently houses about 500 clients, whereas a typical retail branch might have 5,000 to 10,000 clients. We intentionally manage our growth. We also provide special services and pricing benefits such as preferred CD rates, deposit rates, credit and debit card rates, safe deposit boxes, travelers’ checks, etc. But we don’t over-emphasize these services because affluent customers typically expect them anyway.

LUXESF: So the point of difference, as always, is the relationship.

HUNT: It’s the relationship and the service that comes with that relationship. We understand that our clients value great service and a personal touch. Another point of distinction with HSBC is our ability to navigate internationally or globally. We can do things as a truly global bank that very few, if any, retail banks can replicate. The big three would be: (1) our ability to allow our clients to move money around the world in the form of wire transfers for free to any country that we operate in. For example, if you want to move money between the UK and the U.S., or Hong Kong and the UK, we enable you to do that between accounts for free. (2), we’ll establish accounts for you in any country around the world where we have a presence from the home base. In other words, if you want us to establish an account for you in South Africa, Australia, the UK or Hong Kong, we’ll do it before you even get there, so by the time you arrive we can have your credit cards, checkbook, credit history, etc. established in that country. And, (3), a big feature is our ability to actually import or export your credit history into the country that you’re going to or from the country you’re coming from. As a result, from the day that you land in the U.S. from India, Australia, the UK or wherever, you can establish credit, get credit cards, purchase a home, get a mortgage, etc. Typically that might take you months if not longer without the services of an integrated global banking entity like HSBC.

LUXESF: When I say “luxury customer,” how are you defining that person?

HUNT: HSBC Premier services clients that, by and large, don’t think of themselves as “luxury customers” and generally do not think of themselves as being super-rich. However, they’ve got money. They’ve probably got a few hundred thousand to several million dollars in savings and investments, they own a home probably in the seven-figure range, they’ve got a family. And they’re still working in many cases. They travel, often internationally, are very well-informed. The most common thread is that they expect superior service and see the value in paying for it.

LUXESF: So they’ve got the wherewithal to buy what they want to buy?

HUNT: That’s exactly it. But these are clients who take service for granted. That’s a given. They also expect and demand advice. They’re not looking to come in and tell us what to do. They’re looking for us to advise them what to do.

LUXESF: Are you placing any particular emphasis on the Asian customer -- either Asian-Americans locally or Asian investors?

HUNT: What we’ve noticed, to nobody’s surprise, is that our natural market when we arrived was the Chinese community here in San Francisco. We opened our downtown branch in the Financial District just a few blocks from Chinatown and were immediately greeted by customers that have been banking with us for years in Asia. We spend a lot of time working with the Asian communities in and around San Francisco, hosting events, sponsoring causes, etc and are always very visible at events such as Chinese New Year Parades and Festivals. However I wouldn’t say we provide special treatment for the Asian market, but, rather, I think we are recognized as a special bank by the Asian community. We do market through Chinese media and are very involved in the Chinese community. But we are also a huge presence in Europe, the Americas, Australia, etc so we focus an equal amount of energy on all markets. It has been very rewarding to hear folks from many other countries approach me and tell me how our bank has been so pivotal in their lives in the U.K., France, Australia, Mexico, etc, whether it be their first home mortgage or car loan, etc.

LUXESF: How big is your Premier Banking team in San Francisco?

HUNT: We try and keep the ratio of clients per Relationship Manager small enough that we can execute fast, personal service. Currently, the team currently is made up of three Premier Relationship Managers, a Sales Assistant, a full-time Financial Advisor who deals with brokerage and investment products, a full-time dedicated Mortgage and Lending Consultant, and a Business Relationship Manager who handles Commercial Lending and Deposits. Our team also has bankers fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish. Other languages are available through our Premier Service lines.

LUXESF: If I was an average customer of Premier Banking, what traditionally am I doing with the bank? What are we transacting?

HUNT: Everything a typical bank client does at a bank, plus more, with more of a personal touch. The range of services and products is complete: Checking accounts, money markets and savings accounts, credit cards, debit cards, cash management, term deposits (CD’s), brokerage products and alternative investment vehicles, commercial banking (lending and deposits), personal loans, Mortgages, Retirement Plans, College Savings, Wealth Transfer, Insurance, etc. Many of our clients do a lot of their banking online for convenience, but still have a person with whom to work and discuss issues while others prefer to do business the old fashioned way.

LUXESF: Let’s discuss marketing. What’s your primary marketing thrust?

HUNT: Brand recognition. As big as we are globally and internationally, we are California’s best kept secret right now. It is my job to help increase name recognition and get the word out that HSBC is here and prepared to offer the same fantastic service and products that our clients have come to expect and demand all over the world. By getting involved in the communities and helping to create ties with all the different societies and groups in California, we expect to be able to make a serious step forward this year in penetrating the market. This year we will continue to sponsor many events in and around San Francisco and you can expect to see more media advertising in targeted upscale publications like San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, Marin Magazine and Diablo.

LUXESF: Those sponsorships and collaborations as I call them, what are some examples?

HUNT: The Chinese New Year Parade and Autumn Moon Festival are events we always want to be a part of and sponsor, as well as other regional cultural events. Last year we spent a good amount of time sponsoring dinners and events raising money for community causes, including City Policemen and Firemen for their acts of heroism, Opera and Dance Troupes from Asia, a concert put on by the American Red Cross with a group of well known international celebrity singers, a collaborative dinner event bringing together members of the Italian and Chinese communities, etc. We have staff members that sit on the Boards of Non-Profits throughout the Bay Area, particularly those that focus on education, children, and the underprivileged, as well as local business organizations and Chambers of Commerce, such as the Hong Kong Association and the British American Business Council. We’re involved with a group called The Asian Chefs Association which hosts dining events at popular upscale Asian restaurants throughout the Bay Area. I chair the annual Christmas Gala luncheon held by the British American Business Council. We’re considering an invitational golf tournament as well as establishing a Foundation awarding scholarships to students that meet a certain criteria.

LUXESF: Long-term vision for the Premier Banking group -- what does it look like five years down the road?

HUNT: More Premier Centers up and down California for convenience, a much deeper penetration into both the San Francisco and the Bay Area markets, and to be not just one of the most recognizable names out there, but the most respected for our service and people. Our San Francisco Premier Center doubled in size this past year alone and we’re just getting started. At the rate we’re headed, we’ll be in most major cities in towns very soon.

LUXESF: The Luxury Marketing Council. You investigated it for a while. Why did you ultimately join?

HUNT: Three reasons. The first thing that attracted me was the caliber of the other participants in the Council. These were organizations and companies that had similar objectives and goals as us. They were targeting an affluent luxury client, so there were obvious networking possibilities. Second, the professional manner in which the Council conducts its meetings and affairs. Third, the educational benefit afforded to me and my team to learn from some of the best luxury marketers in the country. There is a lot of synergy between the membership of the Luxury Marketing Council and what we’re trying to achieve at HSBC. Not only can we network and benefit from the Council and its members, but we can also learn a lot from their success as well.