Kamran Azim outlines the bank’s expanding presence across Asia, its differentiators in a crowded field, and why trust structures and cross-border continuity are central to client retention.
As Asia’s wealth landscape matures, global banks are recalibrating their regional strategies to meet the evolving needs of high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients. For RBC Wealth Management, the private banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), this journey is marked by scale, stability, and a steady commitment to long-term relationships. Kamran Azim, Managing Director and Head of Private Banking, Singapore, outlines the bank’s expanding presence across Asia, its differentiators in a crowded field, and why trust structures and cross-border continuity are central to client retention. With over 1,500 staff across Asia-Pacific and key booking centres in Singapore and Hong Kong, RBC is anchoring its regional strategy in governance strength, discretionary advice, and intergenerational wealth planning. In conversation with Hubbis, Azim unpacks how a Canadian heritage, a global platform, and selective growth are converging to shape RBC’s value proposition in Asia’s private banking arena.
Globally, RBC operates in 29 countries, serves 19 million clients, and ranks as the 11th largest bank in the world by market capitalisation. In Asia-Pacific, its presence spans Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, and a shared services hub in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The wealth management division oversees close to CAD5 trillion (USD3.624 trillion) in assets under administration, supported by approximately 6,000 advisers across North America, Europe, and Asia.
“Our wealth business is expanding here and we’re marking 50 years in Singapore this year,” says Azim. “We are organically growing the platform by hiring the right relationship managers, scaling assets under administration, and enhancing the product, credit and onboarding experience across the region.”
The firm’s Asia strategy focuses on markets such as Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Core booking centres in Singapore and Hong Kong are critical due to their legal frameworks, regulatory clarity, and status as international financial hubs.
From an institutional perspective, RBC is a compelling counterparty. It maintains a double-A credit rating, is classified as a global systemically important bank (G-SIB), and operates with a risk and governance framework that Azim says resonates with both clients and advisers.
“Being G-SIB classified sends a strong message about our stability and oversight,” he explains. “It means we’re held to the highest standards globally.”
The bank also maintains trust companies in Singapore, the Channel Islands, and the United States, with a bank-owned trust company in Singapore serving as a regional anchor.
“There aren’t many bank-owned trust companies operating in Asia. That’s a key differentiator, especially for UHNW families exploring legacy planning and intergenerational wealth structures.”
Azim places significant emphasis on team building and adviser support. RBC’s approach to relationship manager (RM) recruitment is deliberately rigorous. “We interview them thoroughly; they speak to six or seven of us. It’s a two-way process so that we truly understand each other,” he notes.
Once on board, RMs receive comprehensive onboarding and ongoing support from sales managers, business heads and product specialists. “We don’t just hand them a stack of documents and expect them to figure it out. They’re surrounded by a team from day one.”
This long-term mindset reflects Azim’s own tenure, 18 years with the bank, and that of his leadership team.
“We’re not here for short-term wins. We’re committed to building something enduring with our advisers.”
RBC’s investment platform combines in-house discretionary portfolio management, anchored by a global portfolio advisory committee, with bespoke regional views developed in Asia. The discretionary offerings are deployed locally and integrated into broader global advisory models.
On the credit side, RBC deploys its balance sheet selectively, offering Lombard lending, structured solutions, and mortgages across Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong for eligible HNW and UHNW clients. “We lend with prudence but with confidence,” Azim explains. “And we support our clients through the decision-making process.”
Trust and succession planning also remain central pillars. “Our strength lies in discovery-led planning,” he adds. “We help clients navigate global family structures through our trust and wealth planning capabilities.”
Azim notes that RBC’s discretionary portfolios recently outperformed peers and benchmarks following a timely call to maintain equal weight on equities. “That was post-liberation day,” he recalls. “Not everyone on the street made that call. It shows that we don’t just follow consensus, we think independently.”
This conviction extends to the bank’s lending strategy. Azim, who has spent much of his career in credit, highlights the importance of deploying capital at the right time, in the right way. “It’s not about leverage for its own sake. It’s about enabling clients to act when the opportunity is right, whether that’s acquiring assets, businesses, or diversifying globally.”
While many Asian private banks promise global connectivity, RBC’s Canadian roots and strong North American platform provide practical execution capability for cross-border clients. “Next-gen clients from Asia are increasingly spread across cities like Vancouver, Los Angeles and London,” says Azim. “We can support them, whether it’s mortgages, account setups, or structuring, for families that straddle jurisdictions.”
This connectivity is particularly valuable for family offices and single-family-offices (SFOs) navigating succession across multiple regulatory regimes. “It’s not just about financial products, it’s about understanding local tax, legal and reporting requirements across borders, so that they can make meaningful decisions around these,” he adds.
RBC’s collaborative model allows bankers in Asia to work closely with teams in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, ensuring seamless service across continents.
Despite its institutional scale, RBC is not pursuing growth at all costs. Instead, the focus remains on quality, of hires, client relationships, and solutions.
“We want advisers who believe in a long-term career,” says Azim. “We want clients who value depth, not just breadth. And we’re building a platform that supports both.”
In a market where many firms compete on product proliferation or speed of expansion, RBC’s strategy stands out for its restraint, and its readiness. “We have the right to win here in Asia,” he concludes. “We’re focused on our people, our clients, and the appropriate structures to make sure they are well-supported from day one and for many years to come.”
For Azim, the roadmap for growth in Asia is defined by three interlocking priorities: organic scale, productivity uplift, and meaningful Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration.
“Our first priority is straightforward: we want to grow this business organically, and we’ve been very public about that,” Azim explains. But this growth is far from indiscriminate. The firm is focused on selectively expanding its bench of relationship managers (RMs) across Hong Kong and Singapore, targeting talent aligned with RBC’s core markets across Asia.
“We want the right RMs, those who understand our key markets and can scale their book in a meaningful way,” he adds. This careful expansion ties into a broader vision of sustainable growth rooted in local knowledge, product relevance, and long-term career paths.
A second, parallel focus is on productivity, both for existing RMs and new hires. RBC is investing heavily in the infrastructure that supports adviser efficiency, from onboarding tools to operations and product access. “We know that client experience is shaped from the very beginning, and if we can give our RMs an edge there, that becomes a competitive advantage,” Azim says.
This approach reflects RBC’s internal ethos: that seamless RM enablement translates directly into superior client service. “Advisers want to feel that they’re walking into a platform that’s ready for them, not one they have to build themselves,” he notes.
The third priority is more forward-looking: the development and deployment of AI across the business. RBC has rolled out “RBC Assist”, an in-house developed genAI employee tool designed to improve workflows, reduce time-intensive manual tasks, and enhance decision-making for employees to focus on higher-value, more meaningful work.
“We have publicly committed to generating CAD700 million to 1 billion (USD500 million to 724 million) in enterprise value derived through AI by 2027, and Asia is expected to contribute meaningfully to that,” Azim says.
In this context, AI is seen not as a replacement for human advisers, but as an augmentation, freeing up time, refining insights, and allowing RMs to focus on higher-value engagement. “It’s about making our people faster, sharper, and more client-centric,” Azim explains. “If we do that right, everyone wins.”
Together, these priorities, strategic hiring, RM productivity, and AI deployment, form the backbone of RBC’s next chapter in Asia. It is a growth plan rooted in selectivity, not scale for scale’s sake; in enablement, not just expansion; and in transformation that serves both clients and advisers in equal measure.
Azim is unequivocal about the force that has the potential to shape the future of private banking: Artificial Intelligence (AI). But unlike the alarmist predictions that often dominate headlines, his outlook is more pragmatic than apocalyptic. For Azim, AI is not just another wave of disruption, it’s a generational change that will redraw the competitive boundaries of the industry.
“In the coming years, AI could help level the playing field,” he says. “Smaller or less dominant players will suddenly be able to compete head-on with the big incumbents, not by matching them in size or legacy infrastructure, but by using genAI tools in a smarter way.”
This democratisation of capability, he notes, will pressure all firms, large or small, to rethink how they differentiate. As AI accelerates access to similar products, services, and digital experiences, the real competitive edge will lie elsewhere. “It will come down to the individual,” he says. “The adviser. The support team. It’s our people and how they utilize the technology.”
That said, Azim makes no attempt to downplay the pace or scale of the transformation. “It would be shortsighted to suggest AI won’t have a dominant effect on what we do over the next five to ten years,” he says.
The challenge now, he adds, is not just adoption, it’s adaptability. “How do we roll this out to our staff and encourage them to embrace it? How do we ensure it adds value to clients, not just internally? And how do we compete when the playing field becomes flatter, faster, and more crowded?”
Azim’s view of the future is not defined by fear, but by readiness. In his eyes, the winners in tomorrow’s wealth management landscape won’t be those who simply acquire the best technology, they’ll be the ones who use it to amplify the client experience.
“Ultimately, AI is a tool. The question is: how do you wield it? In the face of all this automation, our goal remains the same, to deliver advice and support that’s relevant, timely, and deeply personal.”
For a bank steeped in global tradition but firmly focused on future relevance, RBC’s vision is clear: embrace the change, equip the people, and let technology serve, not replace, the relationship.
For Azim, the story begins in Karachi, Pakistan. Born there, he emigrated to Canada via the Middle East, settling with his family in Toronto, a city that would not only shape his identity but also become home to his alma mater and his enduring loyalty to its sports teams.
“I’m a proud University of Toronto graduate,” Azim shares. He studied economics and economic history, drawn to understanding how past systems and decisions shape modern financial and social structures. “It gave me a perspective on how the world got to where it is, and how we might use that understanding to shape the future.”
That long-view mindset is something he’s brought into his career, which has spanned just two institutions. He began at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), first as a bank teller. “I’ve been at the coalface,” he notes. “I’ve met clients across the counter and handled retail banking firsthand.”
After two years, he moved into market risk, before joining RBC, where he has now spent 18 years in roles across capital markets, corporate banking, and wealth management. He’s worked in Toronto, London, and now Singapore, where he’s in his second stint after an earlier posting from 2016 to 2019.
He took over as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Singapore business in November 2022, and earlier this year transitioned into his current role as Head of Private Banking. “I’ll be passing on the COO baton this November,” he says with a smile. “It’ll be nice to focus on the one role again.”
Outside the boardroom, Azim is a family man, married with two young children. “Our daughter is four, and our son just crossed the nine-month mark,” he shares. “It’s a very busy but rewarding chapter at home.”
Unsurprisingly, his personal interests still reflect his Canadian roots. He’s a devoted fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, though he readily admits the former haven’t won anything since before he was born. “The Raptors at least gave me one championship,” he jokes, recalling how he celebrated their 2019 win while living in London. “It was 4 a.m., and I was yelling and waking up the neighbours. I’m sure they had no idea what I was so excited about.”
His football allegiance, however, lies further afield. “I’m a massive Arsenal fan,” he confesses. “So yes, I am a glutton for punishment.”
To stay active, Azim recently took up padel, a racquet sport rising in popularity across Asia. “I’ve started playing on Sunday evenings. It’s a good mix of exercise and fun, very different from the gym grind.”
These days, family travel has taken on a new flavour as well. “Back in the day, my wife and I used to travel to find hidden food gems in Asia,” he reflects. “Now, we look for the best kids’ clubs in hotels, because that’s the priority.”
Azim also plays an active civic role. Earlier this year, he was appointed President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. “It’s about giving back,” he says. “Helping Canadian businesses enter the region, building ‘Team Canada,’ and sharing the best of our country with the world.”
And when asked what the best of Canada is? He doesn’t hesitate. “It’s the people. It always has been.
This article was previously published in hubbis .