DBS' Peter Triggs to focus on private banking for clients in Middle East and Europe

As DBS' new managing director, head of international clients and wealth structuring, Triggs will be recruiting bankers with strong international linkages.

Name: Peter Triggs
Bank: DBS
Job Title: Managing Director. Head of International Clients and Wealth Structuring.

ABF: What makes you excited about your new position?
If you look at Private Banking globally, Singapore is now a key place to be, and to be at DBS (Singapore’s largest bank) at a time of such strong growth is particularly exciting. The link between Asia and the rest of the world is becoming ever more important and the recent increase in interest in Singapore caused by the success of the Asian economies, the upheavals in the Middle East, and the financial problems of Europe, provides a wonderful opportunity for a Bank that is perceived as one of the safest in the world.

With the strength of DBS in terms of its onshore coverage from India across to China and Indonesia, and expertise in Investment Banking, and in particular the debt and equity capital markets (eg. IPOs, REITS and bond issuance) there is no business card that I would rather carry when speaking with families across Europe and the Middle East.

ABF: What three goals are you focused on?
Actually more than three, but the top three for our international team would be:

• Building a strong private banking business for clients from the Middle East, leveraging our office in Dubai and connection with the Islamic Bank of Asia.
• Building our European business.
• Building a market-leading Trust capability.

ABF: What will you do differently in this position?
It is not a question of doing things differently, but taking the good work that has been done in technology, and building the Asian investment platform, and bringing that to our international clients in a relevant way.

ABF: What changes are you planning for?
We will be recruiting bankers who can help connect us with the international markets. We are also dealing with increasing numbers of independent asset managers, who are looking for a partner to help them seize Asian investment opportunities. We anticipate that our international clients will be more weighted towards discretionary asset management, private equity and exposure to Asian IPO opportunities, so all these areas will receive more focus from us.

ABF: What are your key business philosophies?
My key business philosophy is ‘do the right thing’ – for clients, for the bank and for employees. I strongly believe that, in the long run, the interests of all three are aligned. It is only if you allow a short term focus to dominate, that things start to go wrong. I am very happy that DBS takes a long term view. It has been here a long time, and is here to stay.

ABF: What previous positions prepared you for this one and how?
I have been in Singapore before, covering the region for the Trust business for a major bank, and covering private banking in Singapore and Malaysia. I have also been lucky enough to have worked in Europe (London, Zurich and Geneva) and spent time across the Middle East. I think this background helps me appreciate some of the cultural differences, and some of the huge opportunities that each region can bring to the others. It has also given me some wonderful contacts and friends across the world.

On the Estate Planning side, working with families from different geographies over many years has helped me appreciate some of the differences but, more strikingly, the similarities of families who seek to protect their wealth from a multitude of threats, and safeguard their businesses and future generations.

ABF: Anything else you'd like to add?
I am very happy to be back in Singapore, and I think the future is bright.