Barclays

Barclays Wealth appoints six Director-level senior hires in line with regional strategy of capturing growth in key markets

Barclays Wealth, the global wealth management division of Barclays PLC, announces six Director-level senior hires for the private banking business across Asia Pacific.

Appointed over the past five weeks, these new hires signal the intent of Barclays Wealth to continue to capture growth in its key target markets of Greater China and Indonesia, after having successfully built up its Non Resident Indian (NRI) coverage in 2010. Today, Barclays Wealth is a leading player in Asia serving the NRI segment, having recruited more than 20 bankers to its NRI team over the past year. Moving into 2011, the focus for Barclays Wealth is on hiring senior bankers in Asia to serve ultra high and high net worth individuals, particularly for Greater China and Indonesia.

On 3 January 2011, Ms. Barbara Yenson joined as Director, responsible for serving ultra high and high net worth individuals in Hong Kong. Ms. Yenson was previously Executive Vice President at RBS Coutts in Hong Kong for the last five years. She has close to 25 years of banking experience, of which the last 20 were in private banking across various financial institutions. She reports to Ms. Joanna Chu, Managing Director, Head of North Asia.

On 1 December 2010, Ms. Preditha Dewi and Ms. Cicilia Audrey Rei joined as Directors for the Indonesia team. Ms. Dewi has close to 20 years of financial services experience in corporate and private banking with various financial institutions in Indonesia, including ten years most recently with Bank Commonwealth in Indonesia. Ms. Rei has close to 15 years of wealth management experience across Singapore and Indonesia, and she was most recently with Credit Suisse in the last four years. Both of them report to Mr. Errie Maksum, Managing Director, Market Head of Indonesia, and are responsible for servicing wealthy Indonesian clients.

Mr. Dicky Ang joined from HSBC Private Bank as Director in late November 2010, covering the high net worth and ultra high net worth client segment in Singapore and Malaysia. He brings with him a total of 30 years of experience across corporate and private banking and he reports to Mr. Soh Chye Guan, Managing Director, Market Head of Singapore and Malaysia.

Commenting on the banker hires across Asia Pacific, Mr. Didier von Daeniken, Chief Executive of Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific, said: "We are always on the lookout for talent and our focus continues to be on very senior client-facing staff, as clients place a premium on interfacing with experienced senior bankers."

Mr. Benjamin Yeo was appointed Director, Head of Research, Economics and Strategy, Asia, on 3 January 2011. He is responsible for managing the Research, Economics and Strategy teams that support the Asia Pacific Private Banking business, as well as the onshore businesses in Japan and India, as Barclays Wealth continues to build up its research capabilities in Asia. He reports functionally to New York-based Mr. Aaron Gurwitz, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer of Barclays Wealth, as well as regionally to Singapore-based Mr. Bryan Henning, Managing Director, Head of Global Research and Investments, Asia.

Mr. Yeo joined Barclays Wealth from Bank of Singapore, where he was Head of Equity Research. Prior to that, he was with UBS, where he built a team of 25 analysts supporting the Private Banking business across Asia, including the development of equity and fixed income research publications. Mr. Yeo has more than 20 years of experience in banking and finance, and brings with him vast knowledge in the areas of investment strategy and research.

In November 2010, Mr. Ian Tay joined as Director within the Southeast Asia Active Advisory Team, responsible for the provision of advisory solutions as well as short-term, tactical trade ideas across various asset classes to Singapore-based bankers and their clients. In this role, Mr. Tay reports to Mr. Henning. Mr. Tay has more than 15 years of advisory experience with a diverse range of product expertise across all asset classes. He joined Barclays Wealth from JP Morgan Private Bank, where he was an Investment Specialist.

Commenting on the hires within the research and investment advisory teams, Mr. von Daeniken added, "The appointment of the senior hires within the research and investment teams further reinforces our commitment to providing top notch quality advice to clients. At the same time, it ensures that the depth and capabilities of our team develop in tandem with the growth of the private banking business, as we continue to strengthen support for our private bankers and client base, and as we seek further growth in our key markets."

Barclays Wealth has been expanding its footprint aggressively in Asia Pacific, with several recent developments that reflect the firm's investments in the region. In November 2010, Barclays Wealth set up a booking centre in Hong Kong – its second in Asia, after Singapore. In June 2010, Barclays Wealth obtained the license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct trust business in Singapore, and to provide a regulated platform for global clients seeking trust services out of Singapore. Barclays Wealth is now one of a few private banks in Asia to have booking centres as well as a trust offering in the two major financial hubs and wealth management centres in Hong Kong and Singapore.

In July 2010, Barclays Wealth announced a private banking joint venture in Japan with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. to provide wealth management services to high net worth individuals in Japan.

For further information contact:

Gan Lee Meng, Barclays Wealth, Corporate Communications
+65 6308 3772