‘More than a third’ of Singapore’s 1,100 family offices banks with DBS

DBS banks “more than a third” of Singapore’s family offices and these high-net-worth individuals are drawn here not just from North Asia but from “all around the world”, says Shee Tse Koon, group executive and group head of DBS’s consumer banking group and wealth management. Speaking at the Wealth Management Summit Asia on March 14, Shee says 76% of DBS Private Bank’s growth over the past two years came from global markets, including South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

In June 2023, Singapore’s largest bank by assets claimed it banks a third of Singapore’s 700-odd family offices. It appears DBS has maintained this proportion of clients, even as the number of family offices here has risen to “an official number” of 1,100, as Shee puts it.

According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the number of single-family offices in Singapore nearly tripled from 400 in 2020 to about 1,100 by the end of 2022.

Singapore has been a leading destination for wealth management because the rise in wealth in Asia “cannot be ignored”, says Shee. “Many of us in the room would agree with that — not just the rise of wealth in Asia but also the shift of wealth to Asia.”

Shee acknowledges that some family offices hope to obtain Singapore citizenship or permanent residence here. “Certainly, that is one potential area, but a lot of that is about tapping into Asia’s growth and doing things more professionally, looking at legacy planning, the transition of wealth from one generation to another.”

He also agrees that the industry has been “bruised” by Credit Suisse’s collapse, which Shee calls a “wake-up call” for financial industry professionals and their customers. “Many times, people in the past talked about return on capital. I think these days, it is not just about return on capital; what’s important is the return of capital,” he adds.

Singapore’s crackdown on a massive money laundering case has seen more than $3 billion in assets seized or frozen. An audience member who claims to have his own family office here in Singapore asked if this has tarnished the nation’s reputation as a financial hub.

“What has happened in recent months is a positive thing for Singapore to have done,” says Shee. “I believe that if there are nefarious players, they exist in many parts of the world, if not all over the world.”

Shee points to how the authorities cracked down on the suspects. “I think the key is how, as an industry and as an ecosystem, we deal with it in a very robust and resolute way. And I think that was what we’ve seen in how we’ve dealt with it in Singapore; the entire ecosystem is coming together, involving, I think, many of us in this room. As we do that, that is ultimately about building a system of trust.”

This will continue to be Singapore’s “differentiating factor”, he adds. “The whole element of trust, the whole rule of law, the whole stability of the economy, the stability of politics and all that will put Singapore in [a] very, very good light.” —