This publication can exclusively report on a top-level change at the North Asian arm of Barclays' wealth management business.

The regional head of North Asia at Barclays’s wealth management operation – part of the business recently acquired by Bank of Singapore – has left the bank, this publication understands.

Vivian Chan, who joined Barclays from Credit Suisse in July 2013, has left the bank. Her future plans are at this stage unknown. At Credit Suisse, she had been managing director and market leader for Greater China.

This publication understands that her role at Barclays will be held by Andrew Sum, who is market head, Greater China, at Barclays. Last year, he joined Barclays from Coutts, where he had worked since 2008.

In April, OCBC, the parent of Bank of Singapore, bought the private banking businesses of Barclays in Singapore and Hong Kong. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Barclays, which like many others has been looking to cut costs and improve margins, said at the time of the transaction that while the Hong Kong and Singapore businesses have "strong growth potential", they were no longer central to its strategy. They were therefore placed into the "non-core" part of Barclays' operations in March.

Barclays is by no means the first European bank to pull wealth operations out of Asia, even though the region is often mentioned as the fastest-growing area for high net worth individuals. Societe Generale recently sold its Asian private bank to DBS, for example.