Participants at a finance boot camp for scions of wealthy clients of OCBC Bank of Singapore attend a panel discussion at Singapore Management University. Singaporean banks UOB, DBS and OCBC are running more of these programs, with Chinese families being increasingly targeted. (Photo by OCBC)

Singapore's private banks use finance boot camps to target wealthy Chinese scions

City-state's lenders see heirs of family fortunes as key potential market

DYLAN LOH

May 20, 2025 06:00 JST

SINGAPORE -- Over five days in Hong Kong, children of the cream of the crop of Singapore lender United Overseas Bank's clients networked with prominent enterprises in the Chinese-ruled city, such as Porsche sports car distributor Jebsen Motors.

This first such expedition for the bank, in 2023, was part of a clutch of programs for rich scions on the rise as Singaporean private bankers chase affluent clients from China even as pressure for robust due diligence mounts in the wake of a massive money laundering case in the Southeast Asian finance hub.