Singapore-headquartered DBS will introduce direct investment deals to its private banking clients via the new programme.

DBS Private Bank has launched "PE Access", a programme to introduce direct private equity deals to its ultra-high net worth clients.

With PE Access, DBS will act as an introducer by informing interested clients of relevant investment deals that it comes across. Clients may then perform their own due-diligence and, if convinced, can proceed to invest directly in a business. The programme is the first such one to be introduced by a Singapore bank, said DBS.

PE Access is available to clients with a net worth of S$50 million ($35 million) and above; the minimum deal size will be S$5 million. It is aimed at those who seek alternative forms of investment and have a higher risk appetite, the bank said.

“Many of our top private banking clients today want direct access to the businesses they invest in. These clients are highly sophisticated investors and many are successful entrepreneurs in their own right,” said Tan Su Shan, group head of consumer banking and wealth management at DBS Bank.

“We see great synergy in introducing 'PE Access' as an investment option because of its ability to broaden our clients’ investment portfolio, allow them to participate more actively in the businesses they invest in, and at the same time help businesses in the region acquire much-needed funding.”

The bank said it hoped the launch would help spur the growth of private equity and venture capital deals in Asia, which last year only accounted for 13 per cent of the industry’s total assets under management. In 2014, $55 billion in private equity capital was raised in Asia, compared to $290 billion in North America and $131 billion in Europe, according to Preqin.