Brokerage Houses Target Rich Customers

By Park Hyong-ki

Staff Reporter

Securities companies are accelerating their efforts to expand operations of wealth management and private banking by aggressively increasing the number of their branches nationwide.

Woori Investment & Securities, the largest brokerage in terms of equity capital, said that it opened its first ``Private Banking Operational Center'' in southern Seoul Monday. This adds to 22 wealth management centers the company manages in the country.

Its spokesman said through the new center, it aims to provide ``total services'' mainly to rich customers with assets of over 1 billion won, ranging from financial consulting to introducing products in accordance with their specific needs.

``We plan to categorize customers according to their professions such as law, medicine, sports and entertainment, and offer investment seminars to widen their financial niches,'' said Woori Investment. It plans to open its second center soon with the aim to emerge as the No.1 in private banking by 2010.

Eugene Investment & Securities, which has beefed up its equity research unit, is now moving to expand private banking services through some of its wealth management branches.

It plans to increase the number of its service centers to 66 by the end of this year, from 42 last year. Most of the branches will provide asset management or private banking services to rich customers.

Eugene Investment said it will boost its human capital by about 100 professionals as part of efforts to emerge as the 7th largest securities firm.

Tongyang Investment Bank, the leading provider of cash management accounts, also increased its number of branches by nine since the beginning of this year, from 132 at the end of last year.

Fueled by deregulations on the capital market next year, most companies are seeing it necessary to widen and diversify their services from being merely brokers. Stock brokering is the main source of their income, accounting for over a half of their total profit.

Daewoo Securities is pursuing diversification by focusing on the three main business areas of brokerage, investment banking and wealth management by expanding both at home and abroad with the aim of becoming a global player in seven years.

Daewoo, along with Hanwha Securities and Hana Daetoo Securities, is looking into expand operations in new towns in the country, while Samsung Securities plans to increase the number of its service centers by 11 to 100 by the end of this year. Samsung Town in southern Seoul is boosting its private banking and asset management businesses as well.

phk@koreatimes.co.kr