Southeast Asia’s private banks have been experiencing strong inflows and sustained growth momentum, according to private banking leaders at the APB Summit 2025 in Singapore today.

The panel discussion, Business highlights: Progress in Singapore’s private wealth business revealed private banking trends in the region, differentiation strategies, and future industry challenges identified by private banking CEOs.

International corridors supporting flows

At UBS, Jin Yee Young, co-head of Global Wealth Management, APAC, and Singapore country head, explained how flows from different locations and corridors have been spilling over to Southeast Asia and other regions as regional connectivity increases. 

“There’s been very balanced growth in terms of net new assets — I think it’s probably a record flow for us,” said Young, adding that the wave of net new money is flowing into investment products, leading to strong inflows into the discretionary space.

Similarly, Julius Baer is also building out its global wealth corridors. With thousands of Indians becoming non-resident Indians (NRIs) every year, Jimmy Lee, member of the Global Wealth Management Committee and regional head Asia at Julius Baer, hopes to capture the growing offshore Indian wealth.

“When the time is ready and they go offshore, we already have a head start in terms of the relationship,” said Lee. Julius Baer’s onshore India business had approximately US$30.5 billion in assets under management as of 2024, according to APB data.

As for other markets such as Thailand and Japan, Lee pointed out that Julius Baer has been leveraging partnerships — including with Nomura and SCB Julius Baer — to capture wealth in these regions. Singapore, Hong Kong, India, and Thailand continue to drive momentum, and the Swiss pure-play has been doubling down on growth markets across the region.

Differentiation: One bank vs pure plays

By leveraging OCBC’s corporate banking solutions, Bank of Singapore’s CEO Jason Moo believes the private bank can help clients address lending concerns for business expansions on top of their wealth needs. Being Singapore’s oldest bank and having a local presence in ASEAN countries, Bank of Singapore has been lending to clients onshore for their corporate needs.

“As long as we take care of their main source of income, we take care of their financial wealth as well,” Moo said.  Bank of Singapore’s assets under management (AUM) are up more than 15%, with revenue rising nearly 20%. Its Hong Kong branch has already achieved its AUM growth target.

Similarly, DBS takes advantage of its different units within the bank. By having a wealth continuum, Joseph Poon, group head at DBS Private Bank, sees a strong pipeline of new-to-bank clients as 40% of its clients are from segments including the mass market and Treasures.

“We look out for clients in each generation and the next generation, [a] long time before counterparts of the bank,” said Poon.

“We don’t believe in a moment of wealth transition. We always nurture the relationships from day one.”

Joseph Poon, DBS Private Bank

Poon believes this is especially applicable to family businesses in Asia, as relationships transcend across generations and to the corporate side.

On the contrary, without asset management and corporate and investment banking units, Lee believes Julius Baer’s advantage lies in its focus on advice. Coupled with its flat organisation, the bank’s CEO is able to meet about 1,000 clients a year, making it a people-powered business, he said.

“If you look at the history of Julius Baer, for close to 100 years, we have not made a single loss because we are a one trick pony. We just make money according to what the clients and markets are.”

Jimmy Lee, Julius Baer

Next-gen concerns keeping CEOs up at night

At UBS, Young is concerned about potential disruptive fintech changing the way banks engage with clients and regulations, which pushed the bank to adopt AI in a transformative way.

“We cannot be complacent with the rise of disruptive fintech. This is why UBS invests in AI and upskills our teams to enhance the way we serve our clients and deliver a more seamless client experience.”

Jin Yee Young, UBS

To that end, Young plans ahead of the curve on how to engage clients and upskill talent for the future, as potential disruptors, such as Futu, Moomoo, and Endowus, are already making their mark.

Also staying ahead of the curve, Moo notices that the evolving landscape and growing variety of investable assets might challenge the bank in staying relevant to the next generation of clients.

“We talked about alternatives being 5% of the portfolio ten years ago. Now private markets is not just private equity and credit. The question is what about digital assets? What about stable coin? What about crypto?”

Jason Moo, Bank of Singapore

For Poon, the task at hand is to reconcile polarising conversations on the future of client businesses between current and future generations, as 70% of the bank’s clients are business owners. While the bank invites experts in corporate industries to bring the two sides together, Poon noticed how views still diverge between generations.

“We manage clients not just for their private wealth, but also their liquid wealth and business wealth,” Poon said.

Private products flourishing in Asia

On the asset management side, partner and head of APAC at Apollo Global Management, Matthew Michelini, saw a proliferation of private products coming to Asia from Europe and the US, with investors in Asia still looking for an introduction to private assets while diversifying and de-risking their equity exposure, while looking to capture a benchmark return with less volatility.

While the alts manager has a public equity replacement, private credit, and asset-backed products to address client needs, Michelini believes its market approach sets the firm apart when capturing this demand.

Michelini added that the differentiation from other private market managers comes from being downside effective when serving private clients, especially family offices that are more risk-averse than institutional players.

“Everything we bring to the market are things we’re already the largest investor in. We don’t offer anything we don’t believe in ourselves.”

Matthew Michelini, Apollo Global Management

“They’re making that decision with their own money. It’s not an institution where there’s a big portfolio and allocation. They think about every dollar that’s going out, and the bar is very high,” said Michelini.