Hong Kong and Singapore make up almost a quarter of the Swiss private bank's total headcount. The firm has described Asia-Pacific as its second "home" market.

Julius Baer has made a number of Southeast Asia leadership appointments, including making Chin Lit Lee as head of Southeast Asia, and Yee Kim Tan as Singapore branch manager.

The Zurich-listed private bank, which often describes Asia as its second home market, said yesterday in a statement that Kevin Tay will take on Tan’s previous role as group head for Southeast Asia. 

Tay most recently served as head of wealth planning and family office services. He will report to Tan in his new role.

Yee Kim Tan was most recently group head of Southeast Asia at the bank. Prior to joining Julius Baer in 2015, he had worked with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. He will report to Jimmy Lee, member of the executive board, Julius Baer Group and head of the Asia-Pacific region. 

Tan will report to Lee. This new responsibility adds to Tan’s roles as Greater China (Singapore) location head and group head. In his expanded position, he will oversee the Singapore branch’s daily operations, risk controls, and governance. 

Benjamin Sim will continue in his role as deputy branch manager and chief operating officer in Singapore.

Julius Baer noted that Singapore and Hong Kong host two of its seven booking centres and employ almost a quarter (24 per cent) of the total workforce.