UBS names Koh Asia head of wealth management

The Swiss bank names Edmund Koh head of wealth management for Asia Pacific, underscoring the bank's strategy to capture a rising number of billionaires in the region.

UBS has promoted Edmund Koh to head its Asia-Pacific wealth management division after his predecessor, Kathryn Shih, was named the bank's regional president.

Koh, who is also a member of the UBS global wealth management executive board, will continue to be based in Singapore and travel extensively between Hong Kong and the Lion City, as well as other locations, a person familiar with his move told FinanceAsia on Wednesday.
 
Koh will to report to UBS's president of wealth management, Juerg Zeltner, and Shih, a 28-year UBS veteran and the Asia head of the Swiss bank's private banking unit since 2002, the person said.
 
Both Koh and Shih will start their new roles on January 1, according to an internal UBS memo seen by FinanceAsia.

In his new role Koh will oversee UBS's regional wealth management business but will also continue as its country head in Singapore, managing the Swiss bank's local investment banking, asset management, and private banking operations.

Koh joined UBS in early 2012 after 20 years in the Asian financial services industry. Prior to joining UBS, Koh was president at Ta Chong Bank, a mid-sized Taiwanese lender that US private equity shop Carlyle acquired in December 2007.

Before he joined Ta Chong, Koh was head of regional consumer banking at DBS Bank in Singapore. He worked with DBS from 2001 until 2008 and is credited with significantly growing its consumer banking franchise across Asia.

“Since joining UBS in early 2012, Edmund has taken a crucial role in successfully building our business in the region and has been key to implementing our strategy,” Zeltner said in the UBS memo. “His extensive experience in the financial industry and in the successful development of new markets, positions him well to lead UBS Wealth Management into the next phase in developing the strong position we have built in Asia Pacific."

UBS is the largest wealth manager in Asia Pacific by invested assets, managing Chf 269 billion ($265 billion) for clients in the region.

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