Retail banking company BNP Paribas is getting relationship managers on board in Asia and considering a push into more of the region's onshore private banking markets, according to the firm's head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific.

The organization is looking to add more employees to its existing headcount of around 300 wealth bankers, said Pierre Vrielinck, BNP's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wealth Management Asia-Pacific.

The company is betting big in the Indonesia market and they are planning an onshore presence, adding to existing domestic wealth operations in India and Taiwan and its offshore services in Singapore and Hong Kong.

 The hiring is part of "a key strategic move to capture assets and growth" in Asia, Vrielinck said. "You have to be present in all regions, both offshore and onshore." In the past, the big global banks served their wealthy clients in Asia mostly from the big offshore centres of Singapore and Hong Kong, offering a wide range of international investment products. More recently, they have been establishing onshore operations as well to tap the growing pool of assets held in those countries.

The recruitment and the onshore banking push reflect BNP Paribas's plan to "be in the Tier 1 division", Vrielinck concluded.