DBS and Avaloq Expand 18-Year Partnership
Southeast Asia's largest bank and Swiss banking software provider Avaloq are expanding their long-standing collaboration. Behind the move are an ambitious growth target at DBS and a shortage of client advisers.
DBS and Avaloq have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their partnership, the two companies announced on Friday. According to the statement, the collaboration dates back 18 years.
The Singapore-based lender is one of Avaloq's longest-standing clients in the region. It was already listed among the Swiss firm's key Southeast Asian customers when Avaloq won Indonesia's Bank Mandiri (finews.asia reported).
A Trillion-Dollar Target
The backdrop is DBS's growth ambition: by 2030, the bank aims to lift assets under management in its retail and wealth business to 1 trillion Singapore dollars. The expanded partnership is meant to increase the capacity of its advisers and specialists.
Demand for investment advice in Asia is rising while the industry faces a talent crunch, the statement says. According to a survey published by Avaloq itself, seven in ten investors already have an assigned adviser. Among those without one, more than four in ten would like to have one.
Much Intent, Little Commitment
The partners plan to work together in three areas: enterprise growth, co-innovation and knowledge exchange. Among other things, they will look at deploying the Avaloq platform across further DBS markets and business lines. Training programmes and staff exchanges are also on the agenda.
The statement contains no firm commitments, however. Throughout, it speaks of options to be explored. Details on volumes, costs or timelines are not disclosed.
Room for Judgment
Shee Tse Koon, head of consumer banking and wealth management at DBS, calls Avaloq «a critical enabler» for the bank's wealth operations. The aim is to give advisers «greater capacity for the judgment that matters», he said.
Avaloq CEO Martin Greweldinger wants to expand into new markets together with DBS. The partners also intend to equip the next generation of wealth management talent «with the skills needed for an increasingly AI-enabled industry».
Asia Remains a Growth Market
Avaloq, a subsidiary of Japan's NEC, serves more than 170 financial institutions worldwide. Asia-Pacific has long been one of the group's fastest-growing regions (finews.asia reported).
The Swiss firm has had a presence in the region since 2007. In 2018, it opened a regional hub in Singapore combining software and banking operations services under one roof (finews.asia reported).
