BANK of Singapore (BOS) wants to be among the biggest players for financial intermediaries in Asia, particularly as it sees strong growth in the single family offices (SFOs) and financial intermediaries space, said chief executive officer Jason Moo.

“The big focus for us is, we’re going to revitalise the terminology of ‘Asia’s global private bank’. We are rooted in Asia… but we have global capabilities and global asset allocation,” said Moo, who took on the role in March 2023.

As part of its strategic review, BOS set up a family office platform to focus on its SFO value proposition, and provide dedicated coverage to financial intermediary clients, which include external asset managers and independent asset managers.

BOS – OCBC’s private banking arm – has a market share of close to one-third of the 1,100 SFOs in Singapore by end-2022.

Assets under management for its financial intermediary clients also grew 60 per cent from 2020 to end-2022, making this one of the bank’s fastest growing segments, Moo noted.

“By creating a dedicated excellent centre for covering these financial intermediaries, we feel like we can have more dedicated resources when dealing with them.”

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He said that a major selling point is the private bank’s open architecture capability, which can offer clients the best price for products through a single platform.

This reduces logistical difficulties for clients if they were to deal with the various banks themselves.

Banks that have their own trading desks may also be inclined to show clients their own prices, whereas BOS deals with different banks to find the best price.

Furthermore, Moo expects BOS to have an edge in the alternative investments space, having spent a lot of effort to build its alternative capital platform.

Assets under management for alternatives grew 50 per cent from 2019 to 2022. Moo noted that SFO clients also go to the bank a lot to deal in the alternatives space.

“We’re probably one of the best banks to help clients navigate this space, because we offer products along this entire spectrum.”

Singapore brand

Meanwhile, what makes the private bank stand out on the global stage is its Singapore brand, Moo said.

He noted that the country has become more prominent in people’s minds in recent years. “We’re riding on the wave of Singapore viewed as a safe jurisdiction, especially after some of the turmoil in the market.”

Even with the ongoing S$2.8 billion anti-money laundering probe in Singapore, Moo said people have not been less inclined to invest in the Republic.

He noted that the swift action by the government, and cooperation from the whole banking system to address the probe, speak to the robustness of the country’s financial system.

While wealth from China may see extra scrutiny now due to the probe, Moo noted that the responsibility of extra vigilance should be on everyone.

“You don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are a lot of good Chinese clients with legitimate wealth who should be banked properly.”

Moo, having been in the private wealth space for over 25 years, noted that Chinese clients have become a lot more sophisticated. They are more focused on preserving wealth through globally allocated assets than before, when they had more concentrated bets.

As more clients in China and elsewhere around the world look to diversify their assets away from their home jurisdictions, Moo believes this gives BOS an advantage, as it positions itself as a global private bank rooted in Asia.

Global aspirations 

As a well-recognised brand in Asia, Moo expects that BOS should be able to capture global clients who are increasingly looking for an Asian or regional angle on research and trends.

The bank also has a global investment capability for Asian clients.

As part of the bank’s strategic review, it formed a separate chief investment office (CIO), which used to be part of the bank’s product group.

The CIO should be product agnostic given that it is purely focused on its investment strategy, Moo said.

The bank is also reorganising its coverage to focus on its three hubs – in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai – with regional offices reporting into the hubs.

Moo expects this will promote more collaboration within the offices.

It also encourages relationship managers to have more flexibility and cover areas they have an edge on, allowing teams to be more entrepreneurial.

During OCBC’s Asean-Greater China strategy update in July, Moo said BOS will aim to achieve US$145 billion in assets under management by 2025, and grow its number of relationship managers to 500.

To achieve its goals, he expects to continue hiring across its offices, and growing its three hubs for the year ahead.

“We are a regional name, and we are a Singaporean bank, but we have big ambitions to be a global investment allocator for clients from the inside out, (and outside in).

“That’s where we will continue to differentiate ourselves – not just giving them capability to invest, but also advising them to invest on a global basis outside of Singapore.”