HSBC has launched its annual fintech summit in Asia, to woo founders, investors and regulators.
This comes at a time when banks are increasingly using events to build relationships, generate deals and position themselves at the centre of emerging financial ecosystems.
Positioning HSBC as a connector between capital and innovation, Chuan He, head of fintech investment banking (Asia), said the bank wants to turn conversations into commercial outcomes.
“We launched this annual summit to connect founders and investors with HSBC expertise, as we are at the very centre to advise them, partner with them and invest in them, converting insight into execution,” he said.
The inaugural HSBC Asia Fintech Summit brought together nearly 150 clients in Hong Kong, including fintech founders, investors, regulators and corporate executives, with more than 40 corporate-investor meetings arranged alongside the event.
Artificial intelligence, digital payments, financial inclusion and tokenisation were among the key themes discussed.
Jo Miyake, head of banking (Asia and Middle East), said artificial intelligence and digital assets were reshaping the relationship between banks and fintechs.
“Our role is not only as a bank, but as a catalytic capital and service provider. We bank fintechs as the only bank with a global Innovation Banking franchise, we partner strategically with them across our tech stack, and we invest in them via HSBC Ventures.”
For marketers, the summit highlights a broader shift taking place across financial services. Over the past two years, banks and fintechs have increasingly moved budget towards events as face-to-face engagement has regained importance in complex B2B sales cycles.
According to Bizzabo’s 2025 State of Events report, 80% of organisations now regard in-person conferences and summits as critical to business success, while 78% consider them their most impactful marketing channel. The research also found that 66% of organisers plan to hold more events in 2025.
The trend is also being reflected in marketing budgets. The IPA Bellwether Report found events recorded the strongest area of UK marketing budget growth in late 2024, outperforming PR, direct marketing and other promotional activities.
As products become increasingly digital and differentiation becomes harder, proprietary events offer banks a way to convene clients, prospects, investors and policymakers in a controlled environment, generating both brand influence and commercial opportunities.
HSBC, globally, has become one of the sector’s most active event organisers, hosting a growing portfolio of conferences and summits covering investment markets, credit, wealth management and innovation banking.
The Asia Fintech Summit suggests the bank sees events not merely as marketing exercises, but as infrastructure for relationship-building. By bringing together founders seeking funding, investors looking for opportunities and regulators shaping policy, HSBC is positioning itself at the centre of conversations around the future of financial services.
Learn more about the HSBC event, here.