Nordea Bank, the Scandinavian firm, has opened private banking offices in Singapore to cater to Nordic individuals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new branch will be headed by Eric Pedersen, who started as an analyst in the bank’s treasury department, and, since 2000, has worked in senior roles within asset management and private banking.

The Singapore team is composed of experienced private bankers who are supported by operational staff. In the team of account managers are Jonas Bergqvist (Swedish), Haavard Farstad (Norwegian), and Kim Osborg Nielsen (Danish).

Nordic businesses are growing in Asia and are thereby attracting more Nordic professionals to live and work in the region. The Nordic expatriates in Asia are also staying longer than they used to, the bank said in its statement.  

“Asia-Pacific is an engine of growth for the world”, chief executive Jhon Mortensen of Nordea Bank, said.

“To present the growing number of Nordic individuals in the region with the same high quality private banking service as we do in Europe, we have opened a branch in Singapore, thereby making their access to the financial markets easier, more efficient and more secure.”

The firm describes itself as the “leading Nordic provider of international private banking services”. It has €224 billion in assets under management.