St George Bank will boost its wealth management infrastructure as the lender deals with a slowing Australian economy, according to chief executive Paul Fegan.
His comments came after he reaffirmed the full-year earnings per share for the Sydney-based lender will increase by 8 per cent to 10 per cent, in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) yesterday.
Managed funds balances for St George's wealth management clients tumbled by 15.6 per cent to $42 billion in 10 months to July 31, the update said.
Fegan said St George will "invest heavily" in wealth management infrastructure, with the business set to gain distribution by hiring more advisers in its St George Financial Planning and Securitor businesses.
Adviser numbers increased 10.1 per cent for the 12 months to March 2008, while the wealth management division overall had "industry leading levels of customer retention" during volatile markets, he said.
In November, St George shareholders will vote on an $18.1 billion merger proposal by Westpac Bank, which St George's board has already agreed to.
This merger would create Australia's largest financial services company and third-biggest dealer group, with 1124 advisers and 648 practices, data from the latest IFA Dealer Group survey showed.
