Bank of Singapore has added Richard Hu as the marketing head of its Greater China team based in Hong Kong, announced the bank on March 25.

Hu, who has more than 20 years of experience as a banker, will lead a team of relationship managers.

Hu reports directly to Derrick Tan, Chief Executive of Bank of Singapore Hong Kong Branch and Global Market Head for Greater China and North Asia – a region that is of strategic importance to the bank. Assets under management (AUM) from the Greater China region recorded the highest growth among Bank of Singapore’s core markets in 2018.

According to Wealth-X, China has the second-largest high net worth individual population in the world in 2018 at close to 1.9 million individuals. This represented a 3.9% increase from the year before, almost two times higher than the world average of 1.9%, despite China's volatile stock market performance last year.

Hu’s appointment bolsters Bank of Singapore’s team in Greater China. Last year, the bank also announced three senior hires in the region – Market Heads Phonda Chan and Anne Song, and Head of Risk, Jacqueline Lee.

Hu joins the bank from Avenue Asset Management which he started in 2016. In his role as Managing Director and Founding Partner, he built a team and started a venture capital fund, real estate fund and fixed income fund. Prior to that, he was the Group Head of the Greater China Market at Julius Baer, and the Business Head of North Asia & Market Head for China & Taiwan onshore and Offshore team at HSBC Private Bank. He also honed his expertise at Credit Suisse, UBS Wealth Management and Citi Private Bank where he held key leadership positions in the Greater China region.

He holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from St. John University in the US.