Bank of Singapore to intensify investment in hiring and technology- report

Bank of Singapore is intensifying investment in hiring and technology as it seeks to enter the top five Asia private banking growth rankings within five years, following a nearly 20% increase in assets under management (AUM) to over $145bn in the third quarter, according to chief executive Jason Moo.

The bank’s strategy is anchored in Asia’s expanding wealth landscape, which is driving demand for private banking services, reported Reuters.

“We hope to be within the top five in the next three to five years,” Bank of Singapore chief executive Jason Moo told Reuters in an interview.

Finews, which keeps a track of standalone private banks, currently places Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), at seventh in the region.

When Moo took over as head of Bank of Singapore in early 2023, the bank’s assets under management (AUM) were approximately $120bn.

The bank’s number of relationship managers has increased to 500 now, up from approximately 400 in 2023.

Moo noted that hiring will accelerate again in 2026. “We hired aggressively in 2024, we hired moderately in 2025. We’ll probably switch back to the aggressive mode in 2026. So we’ll continue that trend, continue that runway for the next few years,” he said.

Bank of Singapore is also set to launch additional bespoke products tailored for clients with assets of $100m or more, according to Moo.

Ultra-high-net-worth assets increased by nearly 20% in the first three quarters of this year, while assets from financial intermediaries rose by more than 30%.

Moo added that the bank is investing in proprietary asset allocation technology designed to incorporate local currencies and insurance holdings into portfolio planning, with the goal of delivering a more personalised wealth management experience for clients.

According to Moo, Hong Kong—the bank’s largest office outside of Singapore—has already surpassed its goal of increasing assets under management (AUM) by 50% between 2024 and 2026, achieving this milestone more than a year ahead of schedule.

Dubai also remains a key market for the bank, currently ranking third among private banks in the city behind Julius Baer and UBS.

The bank is on track for Dubai to contribute 20% of its total AUM by 2027, Moo added.

In October, Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan Asset Management was planning to expand its AUM in the Asia-Pacific region to $600bn over the next five years.

Australia, China, and Japan are expected to be the primary contributors to this growth target.

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