DBS continues to build private banking business

DBS Private Bank announced yesterday that it has hired veteran banker Chan Kwee Him, 56, as country head of Indonesia to accelerate the growth of its private banking business in this $80 billion high-net-worth individual (HNWI) market.

Indonesia, together with China and India, are priority growth markets for DBS as the bank executes CEO Piyush Gupta’s strategic roadmap to strengthen its regional wealth management proposition for Asia’s affluent. (For more on Gupta's plan, see the cover story in the October issue of FinanceAsia magazine).

Chan brings to the role 30 years' experience and has spent the better part of his career growing assets for wealthy Indonesian clients. He will join DBS on November 8 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was most recently the private banking business's managing director of investments for the Pacific Rim. Chan has also worked at Citi Private Bank and UBS.

In his new role, Chan will report to Tan Su Shan, group head of wealth management at DBS. He will spearhead the development of DBS Private Bank’s Indonesia business from Singapore, and oversee a team of 30 relationship managers. The bank has added four new relationship managers to the team in recent months.

DBS Private Bank’s expansion comes amid rapid wealth creation in Asia. According to the Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2010, the number of HNWI in Asia rose 25.8% to some 3 million in 2009, equalling the number of HNWI in Europe for the first time.

Head of alternatives
DBS Private Bank has also appointed Bryan Goh, 41, as head of alternatives, responsible for the origination of alternative investment products.

Goh will join the bank in January 2011. The appointment reflects DBS Private Bank’s commitment to continue to secure and grow its clients’ wealth through alternative and innovative strategies.

In his new role, Goh will provide due diligence, manager sourcing and selection, and will be expected to deepen the private bank’s suite of products, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds. Goh will also pursue investment strategies involving distressed assets and merger arbitrage as the opportunities arise.

Prior to his appointment with DBS, Goh was a founding partner and head of due diligence at London-based alternatives advisory and placement firm First Avenue Partners. He previously also spent 12 years with Arab Bank and the Oaks Family Office, responsible variously for asset allocation, hedge fund selection and portfolio management across global balanced, equity and fixed-income portfolios.

“Wealth in Asia is growing faster than anywhere in the world and as an Asian bank, DBS is uniquely positioned to create wealth solutions with an Asian bias for our Asian clientele,” said Tan.