Truchi to head SocGen’s global private bank ops

SINGAPORE: Daniel Truchi, who built up Societe Generale’s private banking business in Asia, will become head of the bank’s global private banking operations next year, sources said on Monday.

Mr Truchi, currently CEO of SG Private Banking Asia-Pacific, will continue to oversee the Asia-Pacific region, the sources said. Mr Truchi is set to take over from Pierre Mathe, currently global head of private banking.

Societe Generale in Singapore declined to comment on either Mr Truchi or Mr Mathe’s moves, but sources said they expected the bank to make an announcement about the moves next month. Singapore is the headquarters for SG Private Banking Asia-Pacific.

Pierre Baer, who joined the French bank in 2003 from Credit Suisse as an executive director, is expected to become the head of private banking in Southeast Asia, a second source said. Alex Fung, currently CEO of Societe Generale Bank and Trust Hong Kong, would oversee private banking in North Asia.

SG’s private banking operation in Asia is ranked in the middle of Asia’s private banking league table, alongside French rival BNP Paribas and US peer JPMorgan Chase & Co. In August, Mr Truchi said that private banking assets in Asia had risen 25% to around $15 billion in the first seven months of 2006 from a year ago, boosted by rising wealth.

The top three private banks in Asia by assets under management are UBS with $100 billion, followed by Citigroup and HSBC. Global banks are focusing on Asia where the number of wealthy people with more than $1 million in investable assets besides their home rose 7.3% to 2.4 million last year, faster than the more developed markets of the US and Europe, according to a report by Merrill Lynch and consultants Capgemini.