Private banks intensify efforts to build Singapore talent bench as wealth sector booms

[SINGAPORE] Private banks in Singapore are busy hiring relationship managers to meet demand as the Republic’s wealth management sector grows, even as they continue investing in developing existing talent.

Swiss private banking giant UBS plans to increase its client adviser base by nearly 10 per cent with the addition of 100 client advisers across Asia-Pacific in 2026. Half of the new hires will be based in Singapore.

Its client adviser population in the region has already grown from 852 five years ago to 954 today.

These increases are not confined to UBS. British bank Barclays told The Business Times that it wants to more than double its banker population in Singapore by the end of the decade.

Among the local banks, UOB Private Bank has close to 300 relationship managers (RMs) as at the end of the first half of 2026, and aims to grow this by some 50 per cent to around 450 by 2030.

Bank of Singapore expects to add hundreds of RMs over the next few years, while DBS’ RM headcount grew at a compound annual rate of 8 per cent between 2020 and 2024.

The expansion comes as banks grapple with a finite pool of experienced private bankers, prompting them to put greater emphasis on developing younger talent, moving bankers from adjacent roles and using technology to increase the capacity of existing advisers.

At UBS, demand for experienced wealth management professionals remains strong, said Karin Samero-Suter, head of human resources Singapore, talent partner for Asia-Pacific and head of core and future skills.

But the industry’s long-term growth “cannot rely solely on hiring from the same talent pool”, she said. “Sustainable growth will require continued investment in developing future talent and broadening pathways into the profession.”

UBS has been building its own pipeline alongside external recruitment, through structured training, mentoring and rotations.

Its Singapore University and Polytechnic Employability and Readiness programme has supported more than 370 fresh graduates and mid-career individuals since 2020, with more than 85 per cent securing roles at UBS or other organisations.

Samero-Suter said one challenge is that the RM role itself has become more complex, requiring relationship building and business development skills, as well as sound risk management judgment and a deep understanding of regulatory requirements.

The answer, she said, is to accelerate development through stronger mentorship and earlier client exposure, rather than simply shortening the journey to becoming an adviser.

Building from within

Other private banks are making similar moves to nurture talent from within, while hiring externally where appropriate.

Chew Mun Yew, head of UOB Private Bank, said “building our own timber” is a key part of its human capital strategy.

Chew said many of the bank’s best performing private bankers have progressed through its broader wealth business, including its retail and privilege banking segments, gaining experience with clients before moving into private banking roles.

At the same time, UOB continues to recruit externally, particularly bankers with deep market knowledge and cross-border experience who can serve clients across its regional network.

Annabelle Bryde, head of Private Bank International at Barclays, said the bank uses a mix of experienced external hires and internally developed talent.

While experienced bankers can accelerate growth and bring market expertise, internal mobility allows employees to build a deeper understanding of Barclays’ culture, clients and proposition, she said.

Competition for high quality RMs remains intense, Bryde added, but banks are increasingly differentiated not simply by their ability to recruit. She said candidates also look at the strength of a bank’s platform, investment capabilities and opportunities for long-term career development.

Standard Chartered Global Private Bank, meanwhile, is taking a more selective approach, focusing on the quality of its hires rather than pursuing headcount growth.

Foo Tian Ong, its regional head of South-east Asia and Singapore location head, said the bank looks for experienced bankers with differentiated expertise and market knowledge, while developing talent internally.

Established bankers are also expected to mentor younger talent, passing on their experience, judgment and client insights.

New RMs progressively build advisory, investment and client management capabilities under senior mentorship before taking responsibility for client relationships, he said.

The bank also provides training in areas such as wealth planning, family governance and sustainable investing.

Bank of Singapore is similarly widening the routes into private banking.

OCBC’s private banking arm set a target in 2023 to grow its global banker pool to 500 by 2025, but reached the milestone a year early. It is hiring “aggressively” this year, with the pace accelerating in H2, and expects to add hundreds of RMs over the next few years.

Its Assistant Relationship Manager Programme takes in graduates with less than a year of work experience; high-performing participants can move into junior RM roles in as little as two years.

Adeline Ang, global head of human resources at Bank of Singapore, said developing an RM is “inherently a multi-year journey”.

RMs need not only technical knowledge, but also the judgment to handle sophisticated clients, navigate regulatory requirements, manage risk and build long-term trust, she said.

From bankers to engineers

DBS plans to hire more than 600 frontline advisers and platform engineers by end-2028 as it works towards growing assets under management by S$1 trillion by 2030.

Shee Tse Koon, group head of consumer banking and wealth management at DBS, said the industry will need to not only expand its talent pool, but also augment each employee through technology and data.

DBS also sees a growing role for skills beyond traditional banking in the wealth management sector.

“The intensifying wealth talent war has widened to not only experienced RMs, but platform engineers, technology and data specialists,” he said.

DBS said its technology investments have helped halve overall client onboarding time and cut name-screening turnaround time by 75 per cent.

It also spends more than 5,000 hours a year training and upskilling RMs, wealth planners, insurance specialists and trust managers.

Like UOB, DBS also draws talent from its broader wealth business.

An RM can begin by serving customers in POSB’s mass-market retail banking business or DBS Treasures, its wealth management offering for affluent clients. The RM could continue advising the same customers 10 or 20 years later, after they move into the private banking tier.

Several of its senior market heads joined DBS more than two decades ago, and the bank said staff turnover has stayed at around 7 to 8 per cent over the past five years.

Across the industry, however, banks agree that there is no quick way to manufacture an experienced private banker.

The challenge is to accelerate development without skipping the years of client exposure and judgment required to become a trusted adviser.

As UOB’s Chew put it: “Great bankers, like trust, are built over time.”

This is the second part of a series on the battle for talent in the wealth industry. The first looked at how universities and training providers are preparing the next generation of private bankers.