Asian Private Banker is proud to unveil our 2026 COO Focus, an annual audit of how the region’s largest wealth managers are recalibrating operations following a year of volatile market shifts and rapid technological adoption. Senior executives and thought leaders contributed to this year’s edition, including: Wiwi Gutmannsbauer, UBS Global Wealth Management; Benoit Douchin, HSBC Global Private Banking; Patrick Dreyfuss, […]

The post COO Focus: How Asia’s top private banks are rewiring the middle office appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

HSBC Global Private Banking (HSBC GPB) has promoted a veteran to implement the bank’s operating model and strategy in Asia Pacific. Effective 21 July, Benoit Douchin has been appointed as chief operating officer, Global Private Banking, Asia Pacific, the UK lender said in a statement on Wednesday. Douchin had already been serving in this role on an interim basis, according […]

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Deutsche Bank Private Bank has appointed a COO for emerging markets following the exit of Sudhir Nemali, according to an internal memo seen by Asian Private Banker.  Effective immediately, Alain Bernasconi has been named as COO for emerging markets, Deutsche Bank Private Bank, according to a memo co-sent by Marco Pagliara, head of emerging markets, and Yiping Li, global COO […]

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BNP Paribas Wealth Management (BNP Paribas WM) has appointed a new COO for Asia to succeed Long Doan, who will soon step down, Asian Private Banker can reveal. Effective 1 June, Marc Kermaidic will become the COO for the French bank’s Asia wealth management business. Based in Singapore, Kermaidic will report to Arnaud Tellier, Asia CEO of BNP Paribas WM, […]

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BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s (BNP Paribas WM) COO for Asia is leaving his current role, Asian Private Banker can reveal. Long Doan, who has held the position since 2016, will soon step down, BNP Paribas has confirmed. Doan has over 20 years of experience working in the operational side of the bank. He first joined the French bank in Paris […]

The post BNP Paribas WM Asia COO to leave role appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

The effort made by Deutsche Bank Wealth Management to optimise its onboarding process has yielded results: newly joined RMs are able to open client accounts and move assets with greater ease, despite pandemic-induced restrictions on in-person meetings with clients. Deutsche Bank’s determination to overhaul its onboarding process began in 2018 after an Asian Private Banker COO roundtable. Lok Yim, Deutsche […]

The post More new clients, significant NNA: Deutsche Bank WM reaps the fruits of its onboarding transformation appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Indosuez on Wednesday announced two new hires as COO and head of AML for its Hong Kong branch. Michael van Ommeren has been appointed as chief operating officer of Indosuez’s Hong Kong branch. He is responsible for enhancing the bank’s core functional and economic efficiency and driving its growth strategy in the region. He reports to Olivier Livenais, CEO of […]

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The pandemic brought about unprecedented operational challenges for banks worldwide, leaving many to rethink work processes in order to minimise disruption brought by the lockdown. Digital trading was praised as one of the most sought after functions among private banks, but given the low margin and personal connection between private bankers and clients, this might not be a necessary tool […]

The post Digital reprioritisation progresses as pandemic lingers: DB’s Nemali appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Chief operating officers at FIs have become more focused on growth and transformation, and APAC COOs are spearheading the trend, according to a survey released yesterday by BNP Paribas Securities Services. Titled The Future COO, the survey gathers the opinions of 250 global COOs in financial services. The results show a significant shift in the nature of the COO role […]

The post Tech-driven transformation tops priorities for APAC COOs at FIs: BNP Paribas appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

This is a sponsored article from BearingPoint. Global moves to increase tax transparency, headlined by the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard regime and multiple tax amnesties, are stirring Asia’s private banking industry, which has no choice but to manage this regulatory flux across jurisdictions. But while Asian high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) have no choice other than to deal head-on with complex tax […]

The post Client tax reporting a priority as CRS kicks in appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

UBS Wealth Management’s former APAC COO and operating head has taken up a role within bank’s asset management arm after relocating to Switzerland at the end of 2017, Asian Private Banker can reveal. Geoffroy de Ridder has joined UBS Asset Management’s Fondcenter to oversee the B2B platform for investment funds which includes automated settlement processes, regulatory requirements or decentralised legal relations. […]

The post UBS WM’s former APAC COO joins bank’s asset management arm appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Bank of Singapore continues to ramp up its presence in Hong Kong, hiring a new chief operating officer for its Hong Kong branch, Asian Private Banker can confirm. Joseph Chan joined the Singaporean lender on 8 January 2018 and will oversee its North Asia operations. He reports locally to Sermon Kwan, Bank of Singapore’s Hong Kong CEO, and functionally to Sonjoy […]

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PEOPLE   27 November 2017 Collardi resigns to join rival Boris Collardi has resigned as CEO of Julius Baer to join rival pure play Pictet Group as co-head of global wealth management and a partner. INDUSTRY | EXCLUSIVE   28 November 2017 Collardi’s Asia legacy is cemented, but his exit will ask questions of new CEO The ‘sudden’ resignation of Boris Collardi as Julius […]

The post Top Eight for Week 24 November – 1 December 2017 appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management’s former chief operating officer (COO), Hwee Hoon Sim  has joined the board of Singapore-based robo advisor, StashAway, according to a statement from the firm. “Coming from the private banking space, I see clients accumulate wealth through investments, but these tools are not readily accessible to the broader public,” said Sim on why she joined the […]

The post Former Morgan Stanley PWM APAC COO to advise SG-based robo advisor appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

UBS Wealth Management has named a new chief operating officer (COO) and operating head for Asia, following the relocation of its current regional COO and APAC COO for the group, according to an internal memo seen by Asian Private Banker. Geoffroy de Ridder, UBS Wealth Management’s current APAC COO is relocating to Switzerland at the end of November, where he […]

The post UBS Wealth Management reshuffles APAC COO role appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Last Tuesday, at the third Chief Operating Officers Leaders Conversation, we hosted COOs from the region’s private banks, for a morning of informal peer sharing and networking around the most dynamic and challenging area of responsibility for modern day COO: technology and digital strategy.  Find out more here. Your Top Eight follows. INDUSTRY | EXCLUSIVE   14 November 2017 François Monnet: Credit Suisse “ready […]

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Deutsche Bank’s Singapore-based global head of the wealth management operating model has resigned, Asian Private Banker has learnt. Venkatesh Narasiah is leaving the bank after assuming the role in March 2016. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment on Narasiah’s departure. Prior to this position, Narasiah was the German lender’s Asia COO for the private bank, before Sudhir Nemali […]

The post Deutsche Bank’s global WM operating model head steps down appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management’s Hong Kong chief operating officer has resigned, Asian Private Banker has learnt. Jimmy Loh is leaving the bank. He reported to David Wraight, Asia COO of the private bank.   A spokesperson for the bank confirmed Loh’s departure but declined to name his successor. Loh was at Morgan Stanley for two years. Prior to that, […]

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RBC Wealth Management’s Asia COO has stepped into a new role within the bank’s asset management arm, Asian Private Banker has learnt. Stefan Mueller is no longer Asia COO of the Canadian private bank, having moved into the role of managing director, next generation asset management, at RBC Global Asset Management, based in Singapore. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed […]

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Union Bancaire Privee (UBP)’s chief operating officer (COO) for the Asia region has stepped down. The private bank will now split the role between Hong Kong and Singapore, Asian Private Banker can reveal. Jeff See has resigned from his post but will remain with UBP until the end of Q1. In the meantime, he will transition his responsibilities. A spokesperson […]

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Union Bancaire Privée (UBP)’s hiring streak in Asia continues, with the addition of a new Hong Kong chief operating officer (COO), Asian Private Banker can reveal. Stephane Kiefer has joined UBP as Hong Kong COO. He reports directly to Ian Cramb, UBP’s group COO and to Michael Blake, UBP’s regional head and Asia CEO. Kiefer started in his new role […]

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Asia’s private banking COOs and heads of technology continue to rely upon manual or semi-automated client onboarding processes and are reticent to adopt a truly human-free – or digital – mode. Three-quarters of attendees polled at a roundtable luncheon hosted by Asian Private Banker and solutions provider Appway revealed that their client onboarding processes are either paper-based or a combination of […]

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Private banking chief operating officers (COOs) and heads of technology are surprisingly nonchalant when it comes to measuring returns on tech investments, especially when rolling out new digital solutions. “At this point, it is too early to make technology investments based on predefined ROI metrics,” said one Singapore-based COO, speaking at Asian Private Banker’s recent COO Leaders Conversation in Singapore. “We are […]

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Bank of China International (BOCI) has named a new chief operating officer for private banking, two months after the previous COO exited the bank. Joseph Chan has been appointed private banking COO for BOCI in a Hong Kong-based role. Chan was previously BOCI’s head of business risk management for two years. He succeeds Bassanio Lo, who left the bank in […]

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RBC Wealth Management’s chief operating officer (COO) for its emerging markets business is leaving, Asian Private Banker has learned. After four years with the Canadian lender, Samir Dewan is leaving his Singapore-based post. Dewan previously worked at ABN AMRO, where he was regional chief financial officer and COO for private banking in Asia. He has also done stints with Bank of […]

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In a bid to bulk up its risk management team in the face of rising regulations, Credit Suisse Private Banking has hired a director from HSBC for its Singapore desk. Neeraj Haralalka joins the private banking arm of Credit Suisse as a director and head of first line of defense support, Asia Pacific, joining its risk management team. According to […]

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Deutsche Bank Wealth Management (WM) has brought in a new Asia chief operating officer, while promoting the last one to a global role. Sudhir Nemali is the German lender’s new Asia COO, based in Singapore. He takes over from Venkatesh Narasiah, who will now be the global head of the WM operating model for the bank’s WM division. In this role, […]

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Asian Private Banker’s inaugural Chief Operating Officers Leaders Conversation (COOLC) 2015 brought together 19 COOs from 15 private banks for a morning of informal peer sharing and networking around the most dynamic and challenging area of responsibility: technology and digital strategy. (This article first appeared in Issue 94 of Asian Private Banker’s monthly print magazine, published in the first week of December 2015.) […]

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Less than a month after British-lender Coutts appointed former UBS banker Jacqueline Chua as managing director and market head for South East Asia, the pure-play private bank has made another ex-UBS hire, this time appointing a new managing director and chief operating officer (COO) for Asia. Jeff See steps in to replace Louisa Hui, who will leave the firm after […]

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Close on the heels of appointing a new chief executive officer in Japan, Societe Generale Private Banking has now appointed Jean-Pierre Flais as chief operating officer (COO) for the private bank, with immediate effect. Flais becomes a member of the executive committee and reports to Jean-François Mazaud and Patrick Folléa, respectively head and deputy head of Societe Generale Private Banking. […]

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