By the end of geopolitically and financially volatile 2025, Racquel Oden's international wealth and global private banking division saw total assets reach $39.9 billion and revenue climb 7%, to $983 million. Oden attributes the success to HSBC's emphasis on comprehensive financial planning that often includes multiple plans, whether to finance a second home, a child's education, retirement, a new business or something else.
"Planning is at the core of every client interaction and has been a massive game changer for us," said Oden, IWPB's chief for nearly three years and previously the head of JPMorgan's consumer bank network expansion. "From there we can look at how their investments work toward those plans."
The strategy went into high gear last year across the 212,000-employee global bank when Oden and 11 other top executives were chosen to participate in the Power 12 initiative. They worked closely with CEO George Elhedery to design a cultural reset for the 160-year-old bank and prepare it for the next 160, then rolled it out to 100 top HSBC leaders to initiate a multiyear adoption process.
"Our ambition is to be the most trusted bank globally, putting clients at the heart of everything," said Oden.
That was particularly important during last year's volatile market that prompted angst among clients. It underscored the importance of longer-term planning and reviewing those plans, Oden said, adding, "There's no better time and more urgent need for advice than moments like this."
The uncertainty coincided with groundbreaking HSBC research, The Financial Glow Up, that was based on interviews with 2,056 people—half women—with assets of more than $100,000. The study found a significant gap between financial literacy, or understanding investments, and the fluency to take control of investment planning. That latter is critical, Oden said, as individuals' financial needs evolve over time and the baby boomer wealth transfer unfolds.
"She sees financial fluency as part of our responsibility as an industry," said Ida Liu, the head of HSBC's private bank. "She's been a real champion for it."
The study found less than half of women feel supported by their financial advisor. To help lessen that gap, Oden has been perpetually on the road to emphasize the importance of financial fluency. She recalled speaking to a group of women in which one noted starting to earn income after the age of 30 due to family circumstances, not uncommon for many women.
"There's a uniqueness in how we should be serving women versus how we serve men, Gen Z, millennials and members of different ethnic groups," she said, adding, "Our ability to understand those audiences is critical as an advisor."
Extending her leadership outside the bank, Oden serves on multiple boards, including those of the Apollo Theater and the New York City Police Foundation. She's the first woman to serve as board chair of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
