Jason Moo: «We’re Within Spitting Distance of Our AUM Target»
Bank of Singapore previously announced a target of reaching $145 billion in assets by the end of 2025. In a conversation with finews.asia, CEO Jason Moo said the firm is close to achieving this goal with stellar growth achieved in the first half of this year.
In mid-2023, OCBC announced a series of targets as part of broader plans to deliver S$3 billion ($2.3 billion) in incremental revenue by 2025.
For its private wealth unit, Bank of Singapore, this includes growing its team of relationship managers from more than 400 to 500 and its assets under management (AUM) to $145 billion by the end of this year. The bank said a year later that it would aim to expand assets in its Hong Kong branch by 50 percent between 2024 and 2026.
2025 Growth
According to CEO Jason Moo, Bank of Singapore is on track to meet its targets, having grown AUM by 15 percent in the first half of 2025. Based on finews.asia data, the bank had $124 billion of AUM at end-2024, which means it had increased to $142.6 billion at the end of June.
Revenues also rose 20 percent year-to-date, driven by a boost in transactional activities as well as a 50 percent rise in inflows from alternatives.
«We’re within spitting distance of our AUM target,» Moo said in an interview with finews.asia, adding that the bank had already met its other targets ahead of time, including its Hong Kong branch AUM and front office hiring. «This year is really coming into its own.»
Market Contributions: Greater China Leads
By markets, Greater China has been the largest source of growth, followed by ASEAN. The Middle East, which had undergone some restructuring and remediation, is also beginning to make meaningful contributions. In fact, Bank of Singapore has formed a dedicated coverage team in its Dubai branch to focus on Chinese clients.
«I've been visiting Dubai for a little over two years now and nowadays, the airport feels different. I'm starting to hear more Chinese,» Moo observed. «Many Chinese businesses are starting to think about how to expand and invest in the Middle East. We even brought the management team of Bank of Ningbo (a mainland Chinese lender in which OCBC has a stake) and some of their clients on a trip to see the opportunities in the region.»
Segment Focus: UHNW and FIM
And by segments, the bank has been focused on two major areas: ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals and financial intermediaries (FIM), including external asset managers.
In the UHNW segment, the bank saw both revenue and AUM rise by around 20 percent in the first half of 2025, following double-digit growth in 2024. FIMs, which the bank said was one of the fastest growing businesses in recent years, also registered a nearly 20 percent increase in AUM during the same period.
Developments for the latter segment include the formation of a centralized team of experts in all three hubs – Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai – exclusive networking events and seminars, and bespoke tech tools and platform upgrades. It also widened access to products not typically offered to the broader client base with the launch of «FIM Alternatives Select» in collaboration with iCapital.
«One Group» Collaboration
Aside from acquiring new business externally, Bank of Singapore has also sought internal opportunities within parent OCBC via what it calls «One Group» collaboration. In January 2025, it set up a dedicated unit under its vice chair office to holistically support client needs by leveraging the group’s full capabilities across business banking, credit solutions and investment advisory.
«As a result, we’re seeing literally hundreds of referrals to and from the rest of OCBC, including wholesale banking and consumer banking,» Moo noted.
Thought Leadership
Outside of financial and hiring targets, another major goal for Bank of Singapore is to become a thought leader in investments. It has made various efforts, including the establishment of a CIO Global Advisory Council in 2024 made up of industry leaders and a revamp of its approach to strategic asset allocation earlier this year.
«It’s well known that Asia has always been much more transaction-oriented. But with the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer underway, what we’ve found consistently is that the next generation doesn’t want to take as much risk as the previous one, preferring to act more as stewards. This same trend played out in the US and Europe many years ago and is now happening in the region,» Moo explained.
«That’s why we decided to develop a new strategic asset allocation framework based on robust optimization. We wanted to build and manage portfolios using an approach designed to minimize uncertainty as much as possible. Since launching in July, we’ve had encouraging conversations with some demand from very large clients. The main feedback we are receiving is that this is really a unique proposition.»
New Leadership
In July, OCBC unveiled a new group CEO with Tan Teck Long succeeding Helen Wong, effective January 1, who decided to retire for family reasons after four years in the role. According to Moo, there will be predictability from the current wholesale banking head, though he did not share any details about future strategy under new leadership.
«From my experience, Teck Long has been a really good collaborator between wholesale banking and Bank of Singapore. There is familiarity and that is always a good thing because we know what to expect in terms of how he operates,» Moo commented. «Wealth remains a core part of OCBC Group and that won’t change.»
Top Challenges: Talent and Governance
Despite the strong growth in 2025, there will undoubtedly be obstacles ahead as Bank of Singapore continues to do business in an increasingly competitive and complex environment. According to Moo, the fight for talent alongside a proper governance structure and compliance culture are the leading challenges.
Interestingly, he did not cite geopolitics – a very typical choice as the top risk for most industry peers – especially given the bank’s focus on markets that have often been in the crossfire, for example, in US-China relations.
«With heightened geopolitical tensions, there will always be risks for us. But I don’t apologize for this and if anything, we double down on being an Asian bank,» Moo exclaimed.
