UBP in Singapore expects to start operations as a wholesale bank in April, according to a press release from the firm.
The new wholesale licence will allow the Swiss private bank to offer Singapore dollar services, including deposits and loans, and provide a wider set of investment products to domestic clients in Singapore, according to the statement.
“We see great potential in Asia for our unique wealth and asset management solutions and are excited to have the opportunity now to provide an even wider set of bespoke solutions that will better meet the needs of our clients,” Guy De Picciotto, the bank’s CEO, said in the statement.
UBP, which has been operating in Singapore since 1993, launched its private banking business in the Lion City in 2013 with a merchant banking licence. It is also registered as an exempt financial adviser, which enables it to advise on investment products, including collective investment schemes.
Other wealth managers operating in Singapore with a wholesale banking licence include Bank J Safra Sarasin, Bank Julius Baer, CA Indosuez, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and UBS, according to MAS records.
Most recently, Bank Pictet & Cie (Asia) also upgraded its licence to wholesale banking from merchant banking in March last year, according to a statement from the bank at the time.
Meanwhile, UBP gained a Hong Kong banking licence in 2016 after it completed its acquisition of Coutts International’s private banking business in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the statement.
UBP managed $126.8bn in client assets worldwide as at the end of December 2018.
