DBS, OCBC, UOB could benefit as the Middle East’s ultra-rich relook where to park their billions

[SINGAPORE] Private bankers and wealth managers are known to be a tight-lipped bunch. But from the marbled office lobbies of the Marina Bay Financial Centre to the private dining rooms of Raffles Place, whispers are rising by half a decibel: As geopolitical sands shift in the Middle East, a quiet, accelerating wave of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) capital could be actively charting an exit ramp – including to Singapore.

​For the better part of the last two years, Dubai was the darling of the family office world. It offered zero tax, a golden visa that felt like a VIP pass to the future, and a regulatory touch so light it was almost ethereal.

For a single-family office (SFO), however, the first rule of stewardship is capital preservation. And with the turmoil in the Middle East now in its third week, one longer-term implication could be that a permanent risk premium will now be attached to Gulf assets.