Singapore trust levels very high: UBS

SINGAPORE may not be UBS's biggest booking centre in Asia, but the city is very important for many of the Swiss bank's clients who are not based here.

Singapore domiciled clients account for close to 10 per cent of UBS's Asia-Pacific assets under management, said Raymond Ang, regional market manager Singapore, UBS Wealth Management, in a recent interview.

Asia remains the growth engine for onshore markets both for the industry and for UBS Wealth Management, the world's biggest private bank, he said. UBS is also the largest private bank in Asia, and Hong Kong and Singapore are the top two booking centres for UBS Wealth Management in the region. In 1970, UBS was the first Swiss bank to establish a presence in Singapore. In fourth quarter 2015, UBS Asia Pacific had total invested assets of 272 billion Swiss francs (S$385 million), up from 269 billion Swiss francs a year ago. Net new money in 2015 from the Asia-Pacific was 15.7 billion Swiss francs.