Bank of New York Mellon, now the world's largest custodian of investor assets, plans a 25 per cent boost to its staff strength in Singapore from 210 currently. “Each time we win a mandate in Asia, we typically increase our Singapore staff strength in direct proportion,” Jai Arya, president of BoNY Mellon in Singapore told The Straits Times. BoNY Mellon has assets under custody of $20 trillion worldwide and $400 billion under custody and administration in Asia. The Singapore office will also be used to market the wide range of funds manufactured by BoNY Mellon's 18 boutique asset managers to clients in South-East Asia. BoNY Mellon had earlier focused on growing its business in Australia, Japan and other parts of North Asia, but it is “now making a commitment to focus on South-east Asia”, said Mr Arya. It is keen to offer hedge funds, global equity and tailored products to the private banking divisions of banks based in Singapore.