Kiatnakin to provide more wealth management

Kiatnakin Bank will focus on wealth management services and target fund mobilisation to generate healthy margins.

The merger with Phatra has broadened the bank's ideas about fund mobilisation while maintaining high margins.

Kiatnakin Bank is interested in the wealth management business because most of its customers are regarded as affluent to high net-worth, while Phatra's network can support this area.

Market volatility has also convinced wealthy customers to find reasonable returns for themselves and Kiatnakin-Phatra can supply them a wide range of products and services.

"Deposits today cannot beat inflation … we must find funds from other sources and funds from the capital market and wealth management are our focus," said Tawatchai Sudtikitpisan, president and CEO of Kiatnakin Bank.

Kiatnakin, a commercial bank, would not compete with universal banks that emphasise assets growth. It can find greater profit by expanding products and services in the capital market.

Universal banks use "pricing" to chase deposits to serve loan growth, but the more banks focus on lending, the more their capital will be eaten up, he said.

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