Singaporean lender UOB has announced plans to establish a private wealth arm that will develop products and services to meet the needs of its high net worth (HNW) clients. The HNW segment currently accounts for half of the bank’s wealth management fee income, which it aims to double in five years.

With a significant portion of Asian HNW clients accumulating their wealth through their family business interests, UOB sees an increased opportunity with its one-bank approach to serve holistically the personal and corporate banking needs of its clients.

As part of its growth plans, UOB has hired Chew Mun Yew to accelerate the bank’s HNW business strategy and enhance its offerings to HNW clients across the region. Chew will join the bank in December. He will report to Eddie Khoo, head of UOB’s group retail.

Chew has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry in Asia, holding senior roles in such fields as strategy, risk management and wealth management. He was also a senior banking and insurance regulator for more than five years.

In the first half of 2021, UOB’s wealth management assets under management increased 7% to S$137 billion (US$101.4 billion) while wealth management fees rose 32%.