Since the Brexit vote this year the talk has been dominated by banks leaving the U.K. capital. In an interview the CEO of Bank of Singapore hinted that the next branch they open might well be in London.
Speaking with the Financial Times (Paywall) Bank of Singapore Chief Executive Bahren Shaari noted that with costs in London now softening, the idea of setting up a branch to serve its Asian and Middle Eastern clients more effectively, had become more viable.
Chinese banks have not been put off by the prospects of Britain leaving the EU with some like the Bank of Communications expanding their capabilities.
On the other hand some Japanese lenders have been voicing their concerns saying they will begin moving operations to the EU within six months unless the British Government can provide clarity on the U.K.’s access to the single market.
Banks including Nomura and Daiwa Capital Markets, employ thousands of people in Britain.
British Business Connection
Bank of Singapore finalised the acquisition of the Asian units of London headquartered Barclays Wealth recently. Barclays was just one of several European headquartered banks to have opted for an «Asian Prexodus» unable to reach sufficient scale or manage the rising costs of doing business in the region.
$13 billion in AUM was transferred to Bank of Singapore, resulting in a purchase price, which was set at 1.75 percent of the AUM transferred upon completion, of $227.5 million.
The price was lower than originally thought due to some bankers and their clients, not moving to Bank of Singapore.
With an AUM base of S$62 billion as at 30 September 2016, the additional AUM took the total AUM for Bank of Singapore to more than US$75 billion. In addition, more than 60 bankers were added to the Bank of Singapore.
Fellow Singaporean bank DBS has already established a London outpost. The bank announced a new wealth management office to serve ultra high net worth clients and family offices looking to Asia in July this year, headed Jeremy Parlons, (pictured above)
«Our expansion into the U.K. makes us an attractive option for clients who are looking at Asia as an investment destination, coupled with our in-depth bank-wide expertise, and heritage and reputation as Asia’s safest bank,» Tan Su Shan, Group Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth Management, DBS Bank said at the time.
