RBC Wealth Management creates new role and expands team.

RBC Wealth Management Asia has appointed Kamran Azim (pictured), chief operating officer (COO), as head of private banking, Singapore. The firm has also welcomed several new team members as it expands in the region.

In this newly-created role, Azim will drive the development and execution of RBC’s private banking business strategy in Southeast Asia, concentrating on growing its client base and deepening relationships across the region. He will maintain the responsibilities of the COO, in addition to his new role, the firm said in a statement.

Azim has held senior positions across RBC Wealth Management and RBC Capital Markets since joining the bank in Toronto in 2008. In 2017, Azim was appointed head of credit, wealth management Asia and wealth management international, overseeing teams in Singapore, Hong Kong and London. In 2020, he was appointed vice president, head of global credit and cash management for wealth management.

Since assuming the role of COO, RBC Wealth Management Asia in 2022, Azim has been responsible for a number of growth initiatives and enhanced RBC’s business management and front office support functions, the firm continued.

RBC’s Private Banking team in Singapore has also bolstered its senior ranks with new hires:

Jessie Heng, managing director and team head brings over 28 years of experience in the private banking industry. She was previously a cluster head for a Southeast Asia team at Bank Julius Baer. Prior to that, she served in senior relationship management roles at DBS Private Banking, Credit Suisse and Citi Private Banking.

Moses Seow, executive director, has 25 years of financial services industry experience across retail, wealth products, asset management, corporate banking and private banking. He is joining from Lombard Odier Asia in Singapore, where he was an executive director and team head for Greater China. Prior to that, he held key positions at DBS Bank, Bank of China and Bank of Singapore.

Derrick Yong, director, previously at VP Bank, has more than 24 years of wealth management experience across international banks such as Standard Chartered Bank, Clariden Leu, EFG and CIMB.

Eng Huat Thio, director has more than three decades of financial services experience developed in roles with Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas Wealth Management and OCBC Bank. He was most recently a relationship manager with Julius Baer.

RBC has maintained its presence in Hong Kong since 1969 and Singapore since 1975. Its wealth management offering in Asia includes: banking, brokerage, wealth planning, credit, investments, and financial advisory services. The business, which has booking centres in Hong Kong and Singapore, a representative office in Beijing and an operations hub in Malaysia, caters to clients in eight strategic locations in the region: Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.