Singing banker key to ING Asia private bank sale

MANILA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - With his dapper charm and wealthy friends, Filipino banker Renato de Guzman has been instrumental in nurturing ING's private bank in Asia.

Just as crucial will be his support for its smooth sale.

Potential bidders such as Julius Baer (BAER.VX), Singapore's DBS (DBSM.SI) and HSBC (HSBA.L) are battling to grab ING private bank's assets as the Dutch company tries to raise cash to pay back bailout funds to the state.

But the winner can only relish victory if Singapore-based de Guzman, nicknamed "Bing," and his loyal bankers are not poached by rivals after a sale, a growing risk since demand for experienced private bankers is back in Asia as markets recover.

"If you are buying ING private bank, you are buying Bing," said a former ING executive, who declined to be identified.

De Guzman is popular with employees, and his management team has been together for a long time -- a rarity in Asia where job-hopping is rampant among private bankers, the executive said.

The sale of ING's Swiss and Asian assets is the most prominent private banking deal globally since the onset of the financial crisis. The industry is still coming to terms with the fact that the meltdown in markets has badly shaken the confidence of the rich in advice from bankers.

The crisis took its toll even on ING's Asia private bank, with its assets under management almost halving from a 2007 peak to 11.6 billion euros ($17.1 billion) by end-2008. While ING did not rank among the top 10 players in the region's private banking league table last year, it employed 500 staff.

ING declined Reuters' request for an interview.

Unlike many top Asian private bankers, who often start out in Hong Kong or Singapore serving the wealthy Chinese and Indian diaspora, de Guzman cut his teeth in the Philippines where he created ING's successful private banking business from scratch.

Now in his fifties, de Guzman joined ING in 1990 from BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) in Manila and was promoted to become head of ING's Asia-Pacific private banking arm in 2000.

"Professionally, he did an extremely good job building up ING from really what was a little-known foreign bank then," said Deogracias Vistan, a retired banker and friend.

"He became regional head of the private banking business of ING, which is of course an acknowledgement of his achievements in the Philippines and his potential to transcend boundaries," added Vistan, a former president of the state-run United Coconut Planters Bank and the now-defunct Equitable PCI Bank.

MUSIC, GOLF

De Guzman moves in the high circle of celebrities and top bankers in Manila, and he and his wife are often photographed in society magazines. Bankers say his access to wealthy Filipino families and celebrities is unparalleled.

The former ING executive, who described de Guzman as very friendly and approachable, said he regularly stepped up on stage at company functions to sing, demonstrating the passion for music shown by many of his countrymen.

De Guzman is also an avid golfer. He used to be a regular golfing partner of the late Rafael Buenaventura, a former governor of the central bank. He always lost to Buenaventura, ex-banker Vistan said.

"Every time a VIP from his office came to Manila when he was head of ING in the Philippines and I was governor, he always saw to it that the visitor got an appointment to see me. And every time I would tell his superiors that he was doing a good job," said Gabriel Singson, another former Philippine central bank governor.

(Editing by Saeed Azhar and Muralikumar Anantharaman)