Singapore’s private banks manage around $200 billion of global wealth, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. That is between 3 a...

Singapore’s private banks manage around $200 billion of global wealth, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. That is between 3 and 5 per cent of global wealth, said the central bank. Analysts say Singapore is the biggest centre in Asia for private banking, eclipsing Hong Kong, which has been slower to develop a truly international private banking business. Around 70 per cent of the funds in Singapore private banks are from abroad. The seemingly exponential growth in wealth management in the city state has led to a gold rush among global private banks seeking talented private bankers, according to a recent Bloomberg report. The big Swiss wealth management firms have often had the most insatiable hunger for private bankers in Singapore. Recently, Credit Suisse has said it is looking to add an additional 200 wealth managers to its team in Singapore. UBS is also building up its team in Singapore to handle the boom. Pictet, Julius Baer, and Vontobel are also hiring large numbers of wealth mangers as the mid-sized Swiss banks build teams in the region.