DBS hires private bankers who can cater to rich Russian clients

Russian-speaking staff hired even as some lenders stay away amid sanction concerns

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DBS Group Holdings has beefed up its wealth management team to cater to rich Russians at a time when many global rivals are staying away from the business amid concerns over widening sanction risks.

Singapore's biggest lender hired two people in recent months, expanding the number of Russian-speaking private bankers in the city-state to at least nine, according to public records.

One of the hires joined in June from Union Bancaire Privee, while the other banker, who was previously with Credit Suisse, started in September.

The additions came as DBS has become a go-to wealth manager for rich Russians in Asia after hiring a cohort of private bankers from rivals including Credit Suisse and Julius Baer Group over the past two years.

While Russian wealth assets remain a tiny fraction of the $401 billion DBS manages for the private and retail banking customers, its pace of growth has been stark against other lenders, who are mostly in a cutback mode.

Financial institutions such as UBS Group and HSBC Holdings have restricted or even severed some ties with such clients on concerns of tough penalties from the US and Europe.

The Singapore Government imposed its own targeted unilateral sanctions on Russian banks, cryptocurrency trading and exports after Moscow launched an invasion into Ukraine in early 2022, though some banking and wealth management activities for non-sanctioned parties have carried on.