(L- R) Mr Marc Van de Walle, Global Head of Products, Bank of Singapore and Mr Olivier Denis, Global Market Head (Singapore, International, Thai & Indo-China), Bank of Singapore with Mr Martin Sieg, Chief Financial Officer, Vontobel and Mr Brian Fischer, Head of External Asset Managers, Vontobel at the strategic agreement signing ceremony between the two private banks.

Singapore, 6 February 2017 – A first of its kind, Bank of Singapore has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with leading Swiss banking group, Bank Vontobel AG ("Vontobel") enabling its Asian ultra-high and high net worth clients to open an account with Vontobel to place their assets in the Swiss wealth manager’s Zurich booking centre. This will enable them to access to the Swiss wealth manager’s best-in-class suite of European financial products and services. Bank of Singapore clients have the option of choosing Vontobel or Bank of Singapore to manage their assets booked in Zurich.

This agreement brings together the best of both worlds for Bank of Singapore clients – Bank of Singapore’s expertise in advisory services for Asian-based clients and Vontobel’s offering of asset-booking services in Switzerland, the leading destination for offshore wealth, coupled with its extensive range of European financial solutions and services. Having Bank of Singapore manage its clients’ assets booked with Vontobel gives its wealth managers a holistic view of the clients’ total wealth portfolio, thus enabling them to manage clients’ wealth in a comprehensive and efficient manner.

Switzerland is recognised as an attractive booking centre because of the stability and transparency of its legal and regulatory environment. It is a popular choice of offshore centres amongst ultra-high and high net worth individuals, holding nearly one-quarter of all offshore assets globally and is expected to remain the largest centre through 2020 due to its high service quality, diverse product offerings, political stability, safe haven currency and attractive location in Central Europe¹. Adding this option of Vontobel’s booking centre in Switzerland is hence a natural fit to Bank of Singapore’s existing offering of booking services in two of the leading global financial hubs based in Asia – Singapore and Hong Kong.

Vontobel, one of the best rated Swiss Wealth and Asset Managers with close to 100 years’ history, has an established track record in investment banking, asset management and private banking in Europe. It offers a comprehensive range of customised wealth management solutions, including structured products, investments and wealth planning advisory services. Over the years, Vontobel has received numerous accolades including the Leading Brokerage Firm for Swiss Equities² (2011 – 2016). It is one of the leading issuers of structured products in Europe and was ranked amongst the top 2 in Switzerland with a market share of 26.0% in 2016. Particularly, its strength in active portfolio management as one of the leading Swiss Wealth Managers complements Bank of Singapore’s expertise in emerging markets assets.

Said Mr Olivier Denis, Bank of Singapore’s Global Market Head of Singapore, International, Thai & Indo-China: "This agreement is designed to meet increasing interest from Asian clients to have their assets in custody in Switzerland on top of our current booking centres in Singapore and Hong Kong. With this new capability, we are one of the few Asian private banks to be able to offer booking services for our clients in three of the leading global financial hubs – Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland. This further strengthens Bank of Singapore’s position as Asia’s Global Private Bank."

"We are committed to offering the best-in-class wealth management solutions and services to meet the needs of our clients. This tie-up with Vontobel to offer best-in-class European financial solutions is in line with Bank of Singapore’s strategy to work with a global network of providers, such as BlackRock and BlackStone, to offer world-class products and services as they continue to seek for yield in today’s uncertain environment," said Mr Denis.

Mr Brian Fischer, Head of External Asset Managers, Vontobel, said: "Bank of Singapore is one of the most admired and innovative wealth managers in Asia. This cooperation is a further milestone in our international expansion of our global business offering to financial institutions. International diversification of wealth is enjoying increasing acceptance in many foreign markets and in particular in Asia, which still represents a growth market for asset management. We welcome the unique strategic partnership between our organisations, both of which are dedicated to the highest quality standards for clients. By combining the strengths of our organisations, Bank of Singapore clients will automatically enjoy an improved and expanded service offering. The cooperation represents an example for a smart way to offer best know-how in foreign markets by a local expert, which is a model case, also for other markets for Vontobel."

¹ Global Wealth2016: Navigating the New Client Landscape, Boston Consulting Group

² Extel – Pan European Survey 2016