WHAT do you want to do with yourself in the next few years? Where are you now in life? Who are the most significant people in your life? What matters to you the most?

Sounds like being probed by a life coach, a guru or psychologist for people at a crossroads. These are vital questions asked by the bank?s financial officer when you want to manage your money.

Ronald Logan, HSBC?s senior vice president of personal finance services, explains: ?When you?re young and you get your first job, you think, ?I?ve got money. I must spend this now.? Then you start learning as you get into relationships and start thinking about the future.

?As you get older, you get a bit wiser. How am I going to get the kids through university? What would happen to me? You think of insurance; buying a house or apartment; getting the mortgage; and structuring your finances.

?The issue is to think about it in the longer term. Don?t worry about finance. Think about yourself. Work backward. Where do you want to retire? What lifestyle do you want to have? How big will your family be? Where do you want them to live? To go to school? What sensible insurance and savings do you need? You don?t want to wake up one morning, learn that something terrible has happened and you don?t have insurance. Those are the main things people need to consider in financial planning.?

Discipline

On the need for wealth management, he explains: ?It?s a health check. It?s about having a discussion with your financial planner and relationship manager and saying: ?This is what I?ve got.??

Goals are discussed and mapped with what the client is doing with one?s money. Logan adds: ?We talk about what you want to achieve. That is more important than the specific product or the interest rate. We need to know you: if you are actually doing an annual holiday and if you?re taking your family or if you want your children to get a second degree in Australia or Canada. Those things have to be planned for financially.?

He underscores that wealth management requires discipline. ?Put a little savings away and you would be much wealthier and better off in life. It?s like going to the dentist for a check-up. If you don?t do it, you?ll have a more painful visit to the dentist. In the same way, you will have spent the money if not given the discipline. You must think of the rainy day when there is less work around. You must be forced to put savings away no matter what your salary is.?

There are important things to consider, such as the spouse?s earning capacity, the number of children, what would happen if you or your spouse got into an accident and couldn?t work. ?These things change your financial requirements and the planning. It?s less about the products and more about you as an individual ? your life, circumstances and aspirations. You probably think: ?This will never happen to me. It won?t be my house that gets flooded or my family that suffers injury.? You have taken that risk knowing it. Then you?ve got yourself to blame if it does happen to you,? he warns.

Wealth isn?t limited to bank savings. It covers investments and mortgages. ?You?re investing in a long-term asset. Trouble happens when you want something more than what you can afford,? says Logan.

He also points out that the middle market is significantly growing as indicated by the sales of condominium units.

?Condos are a form of savings. I?m paying a set amount every month to have the rights to this condo. I?m forced to save. I?m buying my own home in the longer term. I?ll be stretching myself by having the most basic fit-out.?

Growing finances

Regardless of income, people?s requirements vary. A person involved in manual labor will need a transactional banking account and basic insurance. HSBC works with companies and business process outsourcing, where all the employees are given ATM or debit cards. Those who earn enough avail of credit cards and personal loans to get their first motorbike or car. ?We offer these companies financial services and encourage a savings account. There?s a salary deduction from even the minimum wage and it is put into another account which can?t be touched. That?s how you save up for your holiday every year. It?s as basic as that,? says Logan.

HSBC?s wealth management is available for the middle market proposition which requires a minimum deposit of P100,000.

The premier category is designed for clients with total assets between P2 million and P4 million. If you?ve just won the lotto, earn as much as Manny Pacquiao or come from the right family, HSBC offers the private banking service and a professional wealth adviser.

?That?s an opportunity for us to grow the individual customer?s personal finances and make sure there?s no risk. You want to take big mortgage on? What happens if you can?t work or if something terrible happens to you or your partner? Or if the house burns down? It forces us to look at savings, insurance, mortgage and transactional accounts. How can we make life easier in Internet banking?? says Logan.

Strengths

Asked why a prospective client would put their money on HSBC, Logan explains the company?s tagline: ?The World?s Local Bank.?

?You will be dealing with a bank here with international experience. Globally, we?ve got access to experience. We?ve got the strength that if something bad happens in the Philippines or in any country like the US, we?re balanced. We?re not totally dependent on the Philippines, HK, Latin America or the US. That gives the brand strength. We are able to withstand the problem in a particular place. We?ve got the ability to bring in the best practices in systems, branding, marketing and people so we can provide the right services, the right pricing, the right products for the customer base. We?ve got so many experiences in 83 countries. When we look at the product offering in RP, my team will even share experiences with people from other countries,? explains Logan.

Upmarket overseas workers can have one HSBC account in different countries and an Internet banking access to facilitate money transfers.

In the past 10 years, HSBC has become the second-largest credit card operation in the country in terms of receivables or lending.

The Mabuhay Miles Card and the Red Card for ladies offer rewards and promotions for its users. For instance, HSBC cardholders get 5-percent rebate from Caltex.

Despite the global economic crunch, the bank?s strongest departments are the treasury and the premier business accounts in the Philippines. On its strong market share despite the recession, Logan explains: ?More customers joined us in so many countries. We?ve become more focused in managing the business better.?

Logan says that people need not be intimidated with banks, since they often believe that their pockets are too shallow to open accounts. In fact, people have more knowledge of personal finance then they?d like to admit, he observes. ?You realize that you?ve been sensibly managing your credit card and bank account. You?ve been thinking of long-term savings. You don?t borrow large amounts all the time to do impulse purchases. Occasionally you?ll treat yourself, and that?s healthy.?