Ex-JP Morgan private wealth head Shun-Tak Pang has joined Coutts' Hong Kong office as head.

Coutts has appointed former JP Morgan wealth management senior executive Shun-Tak Pang as its head of the Hong Kong market with immediate effect, the firm announced today.

He takes over from Ignatius (Iggy) Chong, who has been Coutts' market head for Hong Kong over the past eight years. Chong will now turn his focus to his role as Chairman of the Coutts Institute, Asia, a spokesperson told this publication.

Pang will hold the title of managing director, Coutts, part of UK-listed Royal Bank of Scotland, announced today in a statement.

Effective immediately, Shun-Tak Pang joins the company as managing director and head of the Hong Kong market. Based in Hong Kong, he will be responsible for leading the teams of private bankers focusing on the Hong Kong and Philippines markets. He reports to David Lam, head of North Asia.

Pang brings over 20 years of private banking experience to Coutts. He most recently served as head of private wealth management at JP Morgan in Asia, where he managed a team of more than 20 private bankers focused on Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Before that, he spent eight years at the New York office, where specialised in family office clients in Asia.

"North is a key strategic priority for Coutts, and in particular Hong Kong and the Philippines. In the recent months, we have invested in our platform in Asia, broadened our products and services offering, as we seek to become more client-centric and build a first-class front office," said Lam in a statement. 

Pang's hire follows the appointments of three private bankers and the creation of a new private banking team that focuses on Hong Kong since the start of 2014. These include Danny Chung as managing director and team leader for Hong Kong, Chris Wong as executive director for Hong Kong, Philip Penaloza as director for the Philippines, and Xygent Chan as director for the Greater China market.