UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has launched a swanky new branch for rich customers at Marina Bay Sands, as part of plans to expand its business catering to the growing number of wealthy people in Asia.

The MBS branch, for customers of the bank's Privilege Banking service, is aimed at those with $1 million or more in assets at the bank, especially overseas clients, said James Phoen, who heads the offshore division of the Privilege Banking business at UOB.

'Our eyes are on the region. With Asia driving the global economic engine, and the growing number of affluent Asians, there are many opportunities to be part of the ballooning wealth management business.'

Outside Singapore, most of the bank's Privilege Banking business comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, and the bank wants to gain a bigger slice of the rich customer segment in both countries, Mr Phoen said. The bank has 190 Privilege Banking relationship managers now - 135 serving Singapore customers and 55 serving overseas clients - and it plans to double the size of its offshore sales team in the next five years, he added.

Use of the new branch at MBS is by appointment only, UOB said. That's because the branch is small - just 1,100 square feet, compared to 3,000 sq ft or more for UOB's six other Privilege Banking centres in Singapore - and can handle just a few customers at a time.

But inside, a customer is treated to a comfortable experience. The polished, discreet interior - complete with sleek designer furniture and stylish, curved soft walls to shield customers from the gaze of passers-by - resembles a modern-art gallery more than a bank branch. Only an ATM in one corner and a watchful security guard in another suggest that there are valuables here other than the selection of free wines on offer to customers meeting their bankers.

A full-time butler - one of just five staff in the branch - offers gourmet coffee, tea, wine and canapes to waiting customers. The art - there is art, too - is displayed on a wall-mounted electronic touch-screen, and projected onto the interior walls.

Newly opened United Overseas Bank (UOB) Privilege Banking branch at Marina Bay Sands.

The branch cost just over $1 million, compared to about $800,000 for a regular branch, UOB said. If it proves a hit among customers, the bank may put similarly posh banking suites elsewhere, starting with Beijing, it added.

The MBS branch is also part of a work in progress to segment its mass-affluent customer base more finely - as rival Citigroup recently did with its Citigold Select service for those with at least $1 million - to allow UOB to target its services and products more effectively. Currently, those with assets of $200,000 and above qualify for UOB's Privilege Banking service, but those with $1 million or more will be given priority in using the MBS branch, Mr Phoen said. Those with $2 million or more would qualify for UOB's more exclusive private-banking service.

In recent years, rival banks such as Citi and Standard Chartered Bank, too, have set up special banking centres for their customers who are rich - typically those who hold between $200,000 and $1 million or more in investments or deposits with their bank - but don't yet qualify for a full private-banking service.

This article was first published in The Business Times.