HSBC has no plans yet to move Chris Meares, global head of HSBC’s private bank, to Hong Kong from London, Bloomberg reports, citing comments by the firm’s chief executive Michael Geoghegan.

This comes after a report in the Financial Times last month which said that HSBC was in “advanced talks” to move Meares from London to Hong Kong, and that a decision was expected “shortly”.

Senior executives were considering the move to position the private bank, which had $460 billion in AUM and profits of $1.1 billion at the end of last year, to cater for the region’s growing wealth, according to the report.  

Asia Pacific is predicted to overtake North America by 2013 in terms of high net worth financial wealth to reach $13.5 trillion, compared with $12.7 trillion in the US, according to last year’s Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report. Meanwhile, China’s HNW population has surpassed that of the UK to become the fourth largest in the world.

This has prompted a number of organisations to increase their resources in Asia. Geoghegan relocated to Hong Kong in February this year as part of the bank’s stated strategy to focus on emerging markets.

HSBC declined to comment on the matter. However, confirming its dedication to the region, the bank intends to be one of the first foreign companies to list in Shanghai when this becomes possible, and wants to build a securities brokerage business in the region, a spokesperson for the firm said.