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DBS Bank, South-east Asia's biggest bank and Asia's sixth-biggest private bank by assets under management is planning to expand in the Middle East by doubling the number of private bankers there over the next five years, from more than 20 now, the bank said.
It will home in on a growing wealth segment that looks towards Asia for investment opportunities, the bank said earlier this month.
The bank will make its Dubai office a strategic hub for the Middle East, positioning itself as the partner of choice for clients wanting to access the Asian market.
DBS has expanded its office premises located at the heart of Dubai's financial hub, DIFC. Over the past seven years, total revenue of this branch has grown 20 percent a year, it said.
DBS' Middle East strategy includes targeting the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) business, the bank's spokesman told specialized media outlet Business Times.
Tan Su Shan, its group head of wealth management and consumer banking, noted the enormous wealth of Middle East clients and their increasing appetite for Asian investments.
Wealth in the Middle East remains on the rise, with the number of Ultra high-net-worth individual (UHNW) clients with more than $500 million in assets in this region projected to increase by 28 percent - from 390 last year to approximately 500 in 2022, she said.
"With Middle East clients' appetite for Asia wealth solutions growing, DBS is well-positioned to support its Middle East clients in accessing Asia's growth opportunities through its strong Asian network, innovative investment solutions, and world-class digital capabilities," she said.
Bank of Singapore (BOS), the private bank arm of OCBC (Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Bank), has also been growing its Dubai operations to clinch more Middle East and NRI clients.
Vikram Malhotra, BOS global market head for South Asia and the Middle East, said that as of September 30, the bank's revenue from the region has grown 20 percent on a year-on-year basis - with a good mix of Arab and NRI clients.
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"We continue to hire strategically to expand our operations in our DIFC branch," he said.
BOS opened its Dubai subdivision in February 2017 and has approximately 45 wealth managers in the city.
This month, Citi Private Bank said it is eyeing a bigger chunk of Indian wealth business - globally and domestically.
India has the largest diaspora population in the world, with as many as 16 million Indians living outside the country of their birth, says the United Nations report on migration trends.
The bank, the second largest private bank in Asia, expects to acquire a significantly larger share of the wealth-management business represented by the worldwide Indian diaspora and the domestic Indian markets.
A significant proportion of the diaspora are UHNW families, concentrated in South-east Asia, Hong Kong, Australasia, the Gulf region, East Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, said Citi.
"The mantra of globalization is something the Indian diaspora has been practicing for centuries," Jyrki Rauhio, South Asia head for Citi Private Bank told the Business Times.
-Sowmya Sangam
