Rickie Chan: «We Want to be the Ferrari of Private Banking»
While many financial groups are integrating their wealth businesses to serve clients across all segments, Bank of Singapore is a rare exception as a standalone private banking unit. According to its Hong Kong branch chief Rickie Chan, this is a deliberate move to avoid diluting the offering.
In recent years, banks with a major retail presence in Asia have been integrating their wealth management businesses to serve segments across the board, from retail to private banking clients. One of the main reasons is the cost efficiencies that can be realized through various efforts such as mass product launches or shared back office expenses.
According to Rickie Chan, head of private banking, Greater China and Hong Kong branch chief at Bank of Singapore, OCBC has taken a different approach by allowing its private bank to be a separately incorporated, standalone unit.
«Nowadays, many financial groups have private banking business heads that report to a retail or consumer head,» Chan said in a conversation with finews.asia. «So whenever there is an exciting product or service, it is rolled out to clients in the full wealth continuum. But private banking clients have needs that are very different to regular retail banking clients.»
Direct Reporting Line
In contrast, Chan highlights that Bank of Singapore’s global CEO Jason Moo reports directly to group CEO Helen Wong, providing not only greater autonomy but elevated importance for the private banking business.
«This allows us to operate independently and launch solutions that are more relevant and catered to the high net worth and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) market,» Chan added. «Our private banking proposition is not diluted. We want to be the Ferrari of private banking.»
Brand: Riding on Singapore’s Success
Another differentiation from universal banking rivals is OCBC’s decision to retain the Bank of Singapore brand rather than rename it to have a closer affiliation with the group.
«Many have asked us if we will consider changing our name to be more associated with the group, such as OCBC Private Bank,» Chan observed.
«We will not rebrand because we see the merits of a standalone private bank with the name Bank of Singapore. Private banking is a global industry, and the ‘Singapore’ name is very powerful, especially among clients from the Middle East or Europe. This is due to the progress that Singapore has made as a financial hub and its strong association with safety and stability.»
Internal Collaboration
Chan stresses that Bank of Singapore’s independence is not mutually exclusive with internal collaboration. For example, it launched the Lion-BOS CIO Supertrends Multi Asset Fund that focuses on long-term super trends like AI and infrastructure, made exclusive to both Bank of Singapore and OCBC’s customers.
The private bank is also increasingly focused on one-bank opportunities to serve UHNW clients more holistically by leveraging capabilities across the OCBC group. A dedicated unit was effectively formed in January 2025 to spearhead and formulate strategies to fulfill needs in areas such as business lending.
«The unit provides a one-stop shop and service suite through collaboration across OCBC Group,» Chan said.
Resumed Hiring
In October 2024, Bank of Singapore told finews.asia that it had increased the number of relationship managers in Hong Kong by 20 percent and paused hiring.
«We previously announced the target of hiring 500 RMs globally by end-2025 and we have already reached this goal last year,» shared Chan who was the former Hong Kong branch CEO of the now-defunct Credit Suisse.
«Last year was a golden period to hire quality people. There were bank mergers and restructuring in the industry. In fact, I have never received so many CVs in my 30 years of experience. We paused hiring late last year but we have resumed in 2025.»
Focus Areas
Aside from resumed hiring, Bank of Singapore will have two main areas of focus this year. One is to enhance its capabilities and offerings, including its positioning of the bank as an investment powerhouse with leading thought leadership, professionalizing the management of client wealth and one-group opportunities. Another area is to grow its financial intermediaries – such as external asset managers – and UHNW segments.
«We grew our UHNW segment’s assets under management (AUM) by 54 percent year-on-year from a meaningful base. This is one of the reasons Bank of Singapore brought me to the firm,» Chan noted.
Bank of Singapore previously announced that it would aim to grow its AUM in Hong Kong by 50 percent between end-2023 and 2026. In the first quarter of 2025, Greater China AUM increased 20 percent year-on-year, with growth across the board including discretionary mandates, funds, transactional revenue and wealth planning. According to finews.asia data, Bank of Singapore had $124 billion in total AUM globally as of end-2024.
