The new subsidiary, BOS Wealth Management Europe, will offer private banking solutions and investment advisory services to the bank’s ultra high and high net worth clients in the European Economic Area (EEA), which comprises of the European Union countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the UK.
Operations in Luxembourg are expected to begin in the third quarter of this year, according to a statement from the bank.
Currently Bank of Singapore serves its European clients from its Singapore headquarters and through the London office of its parent company, OCBC Bank, according to the statement.
The Luxembourg-based business will be headed by Anthony Adriano Simcic (picture above), who will report directly to Olivier Denis, Bank of Singapore’s global market head for Singapore, Malaysia and international.
Simcic joined the bank in March as a managing director within the bank’s international team to boost Bank of Singapore’s coverage in the EEA and UK.
Bahren Shaari, Bank of Singapore’s chief executive, said in the statement: “Since the global financial crisis of 2008, European high net worth individuals and family offices have shown interest in Asia, and especially in Singapore, as an alternative wealth hub”.
The bank’s opening in Luxembourg comes at a time when wealth is growing in Europe. The region’s HNWI population grew 7.3% to 4.8 million in 2017, while wealth increased 7.8% to $15.9trn (€13.6trn) during the same year, according to Capgemini’s world wealth report.
Bank of Singapore also has a presence in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, as well as a representative office in the Philippines, according to the bank’s website.
For more insight on asset and wealth management in Asia, please click on www.fundselectorasia.com
