Singapore-based United Overseas Bank is looking to double its assets under management in its wealth business in the coming years.
As of end-2023, UOB’s wealth assets rose to a record S$176 billion ($132 billion), according to its annual report. And the Singapore lender is aiming to double this figure in the next couple of years, said a «Reuters» report citing its head of private bank Chew Mun Yew.
«With the increased wealth flow opportunities into ASEAN region and the strong organic growth within Singapore, we believe there will be continued strong growth momentum in the wealth management space,» Chew commented.
Private Wealth
Currently, private wealth clients account for more than half of the assets under management. The bank defines this segment as individuals with minimum assets of S$2 million.
In 2023, private wealth assets grew 14 percent with more than half of the contributions from Singapore. The remaining contributors include Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and North Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Japan).
Southeast Asia Acceleration
Moving forward, UOB will look to further accelerate growth in Southeast Asia following its acquisition of Citi's consumer business in four markets within the region. In early 2022, it bought the US lender’s retail operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for about S$5 billion.
«We also scale up cross-segment collaborations with other business units within the bank, to maximize cross-sell opportunities and increase penetration rate of our clients,» Chew added.
