Zurich-based Vontobel has entered  a «first of its kind» strategic agreement that enables clients of Bank of Singapore to book their assets in Switzerland.

The new agreement allows Bank of Singapore clients to place their assets in Vontobel’s booking center in Zurich and have access to the Swiss wealth manager’s extensive range of European financial products and services, the banks said today in a press release.

A first of its kind, Bank of Singapore has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Vontobel for its Asian ultra-high and high net worth clients to open an account with Vontobel to place their assets in the Swiss wealth manager’s Zurich booking center.

This will enable them to access to the Swiss wealth manager’s European financial products and services. Bank of Singapore clients have the option of choosing Vontobel or Bank of Singapore to manage their assets booked in Zurich.

The latest unique agreement could now see a stream of new affiliations struck between Asian based lenders and wealth managers and Swiss counterparts. 

Wealth Triangle: Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland

Switzerland is recognized as an attractive booking center because of the stability and transparency of its legal and regulatory environment. It is a popular choice of offshore centers amongst ultra-high and high net worth individuals, holding nearly one-quarter of all offshore assets globally and is expected to remain the largest center through 2020.

Olivier Denis 502

«With this new capability, we are one of the few Asian private banks to be able to offer booking services for our clients in three of the leading global financial hubs, Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland. This further strengthens Bank of Singapore’s position as Asia’s Global Private Bank,» said Olivier Denis, (pictured) Bank of Singapore’s Global Market Head of Singapore, International, Thai & Indo-China.

The latest tie-up with Vontobel to offer best-in-class European financial solutions is in line with Bank of Singapore’s strategy to work with a global network of providers, such as BlackRock and BlackStone, as clients continue to seek for yield in the current uncertain low interest rate environment.