As reported some months ago, the UK-listed bank is re-establishing a booking centre in the jurisdiction, completing a return to where it was a decade ago.

Barclays, which last week reported its full-year 2025 financial results, has appointed Werner Schlossmacher as its chief operating officer for Barclays Private Bank Asia. The role is a newly formed one, Barclays told this news service when asked about the matter.

Based in Singapore, Schlossmacher will report to Leo Müller, COO of Barclays Private Bank & Wealth Management. 

Schlossmacher's  appointment comes as Barclays is preparing to establish a private banking booking centre in Singapore later in 2026, representing something of a full return to an on-the-ground presence in the Asian city-state by the UK-listed bank.

He brings more than 30 years of global wealth management experience across Singapore, Hong Kong and Zurich. He led digital transformation in the wealth business side for UBS, redesigning mobile and e-banking experiences, and introduced generative AI capabilities. Prior to UBS, Schlossmacher spent more than two decades at Credit Suisse in senior roles across digital platforms, front office applications, and APAC wealth management leadership.

Such roles shed light on how Barclays intends to drive technology in private banking and wealth management in the region. 

“Werner is an exceptional operator with deep experience across Asia and Europe. His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale our business in Asia and prepare for the launch of our booking centre in Singapore,” Müller said.

As reported in November 2024, Barclays has been seeking to re-establish a Singapore booking centre, returning to the situation it was in a decade ago when it sold its private banking business in the region to OCBC, parent of Bank of Singapore. Despite that deal, Barclays retained important links with Asia. Barclays Private Bank kept its business in India, for example. When this news service interviewed the lender in 2021 about the importance of Asia and Singapore in particular, the bank described the latter financial hub as impossible to ignore. This news service has for some time heard that Barclays is re-entering the space.