The start of September and the winding down of the vacation season has certainly begun with plenty of senior appointments, as in the case of Bank of Singapore.

Bank of Singapore has appointed Vivienne Chia as its global head of investment advisory solutions, with immediate effect. She will be based in Singapore reporting to Lim Leong Guan, global head of products. She is replacing Fidelis Oruche, who had been in the post since 2013; he is taking on a newly-created role as global head of alternative investments and managed solutions.

In this new role, Oruche will be instrumental in growing the suite of solutions in this space – an area of strategic importance where, earlier, the bank had set a target in April 2021 of doubling its share of wallet in private and alternative investments by 2023.

Chia will drive development and innovation in the bank’s investment advisory solutions across all asset classes in the capital markets to meet the needs of ultra-high and high net worth individuals in Bank of Singapore’s core markets in South and Southeast Asia, Greater China and the Middle East, the bank, part of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), said. 

Chia will also oversee the daily operations of Bank of Singapore’s trading rooms in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai International Financial Centre, it added. 

Chia brings with her more than 20 years of investment products advisory and management experience working in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Switzerland, where she advised a global clientele base. She was most recently the head of structured products' origination and product management APAC at UBS Investment Bank, based in Singapore. Prior to this, she was the head of global capital markets Asia-Pacific at UBS Wealth Management. (On a related point, UBS this week announced the appointment of co-heads for its Global Wealth Management Capital Markets in Asia-Pacific. They take over from a single individual, who has moved to a new role.)

Commenting on Ms Chia’s appointment, Lim said: “As economies continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, many clients are entering a new world with a different set of values and priorities. To meet these expectations, we are determined to provide them with the right advice and products to serve a greater variety of needs and goals.” 

“Through her extensive career, Vivienne has gained a unique perspective in developing investment solutions across both investment banking and wealth management platforms to meet the needs and objectives of a full spectrum of clients. She also brings with her an astute sense of judgment in overcoming cultural, regulatory and risk challenges to facilitate favourable business outcomes. She will be an asset to the Bank of Singapore team.”

Chia holds a bachelor of accountancy degree from Nanyang Technological University, where she also minored in banking and finance.