Barclays to set on Hiring Spree in Singapore, India

10 Jul 2024 , 10:09 AM

According to the head of the bank’s wealth division for the area, Barclays Plc intends to go on a massive hiring binge in Asia over the next several years in order to increase client assets. The bank will concentrate on the ultra-rich and family offices in Singapore and India.

By the end of 2028, the institution hopes to have quadrupled its private banking assets in the area, according to Nitin Singh. Singh intends to triple the size of his wealth team in Singapore and India in order to accomplish that aim. He refuses to disclose the number of employees or assets at the unit that he now employs.

Barclays joins UBS Group AG and Julius Baer Group Ltd. as companies expanding their wealth management operations in the area. As wealth surges in the most populated nation on earth, the London-based bank, which has been catering to India’s wealthy since 2008, is putting more emphasis on that market.

Singh stated in an interview that “we have significant growth ambitions for the business and a large amount of growth we are seeing happen globally is happening in Asia.”

Hussain Selani was appointed as the head of India investments and for Indians living overseas, the bank said on Wednesday. Along with Jean-Damien Marie, the global head of investments, private banking, and wealth management, he will answer to Singh.

Across its wealth operations, the company oversees approximately 183 billion pounds ($234 billion) in customer deposits, loans, and invested assets, with the bulk coming from the United Kingdom. According to Singh, Asia’s portion of it is in the upper teens.

In the five years leading up to 2028, there will be a 50% increase in the number of super wealthy Indians with assets valued at over $30 million, according to the most recent wealth study from Knight Frank.

To grow their market share, money managers have started hiring in India as well as in major cities like Singapore and Dubai. Data from India’s Ministry of External Affairs shows that over 32 million Indians live abroad, mostly in the UK, the Middle East, and North America.

According to Singh, the bank has a long history of close relationships with Indians around the world who bank with it both onshore and offshore. According to Singh, 40% of the 100 wealthiest clients in the country as listed in Forbes are among its clientele.

Singh, a money management expert of over 20 years, moved from Avendus Wealth Management Pvt. in Mumbai to Barclays a year ago. In the past, he served in a number of executive capacities at HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc in the UK and India.

After leaving the wealth management business in 2016, Barclays returned to the Singapore market three years ago with a coverage office. The bank has hired two former Credit Suisse bankers as part of its significant resource investment in the city-state.

Singh refused to comment on whether Barclays plans to establish a booking office in Singapore. The bank intends to establish a firm structure known as variable capital, which would enable customers to invest in fund products that are incorporated within the city-state.

Barclays will target clients with investable assets over £10 million ($11.8 million) in Singapore, as opposed to £3 million in India and £5 million in other countries.

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