Bank of Singapore inks MOU with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp unit SMBC Trust Bank

BANK of Singapore (BOS) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SMBC Trust Bank with the aim of providing clients of the Japanese bank with a wide range of global investment opportunities to diversify their portfolios.

SMBC Trust Bank is a wholly owned unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp - Japan's second-largest bank by assets. It offers a wide variety of services, with private banking services at its core, BOS said.

BOS hopes the MOU will raise its profile among Japanese ultra-high and high net worth individuals.

"Growth in assets under management (AUM) from this segment has been robust, with a 19 per cent annual growth rate in 2017," BOS said.

Private wealth in Japan is expected to increase from US$14.9 trillion in 2016 to US$16.2 trillion in 2021, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

Jones Lang LaSalle wrote in a March report that Japanese investors are looking outside of Japan to expand and diversify their portfolios outside of domestic bonds and stocks into alternative asset classes including real estate. Outbound real estate investment from Japan was nearly US$3.5 billion in 2017, 70 per cent more than in 2016.