Barclays has revealed its plans to establish a new private bank booking centre in Singapore, further advancing the British bank’s expansion in Asia.
The new facility is expected to enhance the bank’s ability to deliver specialist investment, banking, lending, and wealth advisory services to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) and global family office (GFO) clients in the region.
Barclays’ Singapore booking centre will enable its private bank clients to book assets locally while offering a comprehensive wealth management service.
The centre will utilise its partnership with Barclays’ investment bank to provide a unified ‘one-bank’ solution. This will offer clients access to advanced financial products, cross-asset class offerings, and quasi-institutional investment solutions.
Scheduled to become operational by 2026, the new booking centre will be staffed by a team of experienced professionals dedicated to delivering Barclays’ expertise to private banking clients.
Barclays private bank Asia Pacific head Nitin Singh said: “We are focused on meeting the needs of our international clients in the region with enhanced banker coverage and product capabilities.
“This investment in Singapore, combined with our market-leading UK and Indian franchises, positions us to strategically capture strong global and regional inflows, while enhancing our ability to offer seamless cross-border wealth management solutions.”
The new booking centre marks Barclays’ return to the region eight years after the British bank divested its wealth and investment management business in Singapore and Hong Kong to a unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC).
Earlier this week, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined the bank £40m for failing to disclose certain arrangements with Qatari entities in 2008.
The fine follows Barclays’ decision to withdraw its referral of the FCA’s planned enforcement action to the Upper Tribunal. The FCA’s findings indicated that Barclays’ conduct during its October 2008 capital raising was deemed reckless and lacked integrity.
