today said it is setting up a private wealth arm focused on developing products and services for high net worth clients.

As part of the process, Singapore-based UOB said it has hired Chew Mun Yew who will join the Bank in December. Chew has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry in Asia, serving in senior roles in fields that included strategy, risk management and wealth management. He was also a senior banking and insurance regulator for more than five years. Most recently, he was Greater China Group Head, Julius Baer, in Singapore. Chew joins UOB in December.

UOB said that its HNW segment accounts for half of the bank’s wealth management fee income which it aims to double within five years. 

“With a significant portion of Asian HNW clients accumulating their wealth through their family business interests, UOB is seeing an increased opportunity with its one-bank approach to serve holistically the personal and corporate banking needs of its clients,” it said in a statement. 

Chew will report to Eddie Khoo, head of UOB’s group retail business. He said: “At UOB, as we focus on serving our clients better, we have been strengthening our people, product and platform capabilities across the entire wealth spectrum. With the depth of experience that Mun Yew brings to the table, we are well-positioned to accelerate our HNW business strategy and to enhance our offering to HNW clients across the region.”

In the first half of 2021, UOB’s wealth management assets under management increased seven per cent to $137 billion while wealth management fees rose 32 per cent.

This news service has contacted UOB to find out how the new business area works alongside its existing private banking operations, and may update this story later.