THE name 'Bank of Singapore' (BOS) somehow just doesn't have that ring of fast cars or yachts that one associates with the monied classes and their private banks - like how clients of ING private banking got grandstand tickets to Singapore's first F1 back in 2008, a very glitzy affair.

Perhaps that matters little in today's post-financial crisis world.

A few months after OCBC sprang its surprise of buying the former ING Asia Private Bank for $2 billion - which made it a serious player instead of a marginal one - it stunned the industry once more by renaming it BOS.

OCBC's latest move to make itself the private bank of choice to the rich in Greater China and South-east Asia is through BOS, it said last week.

BOS was actually a 50-year- old subsidiary that the bank used at different times in the past - with not much success, the unkind would add; otherwise it would not be available to be dusted off the shelf and reinvented as the moniker for OCBC's most ambitious strategy to date.

OCBC has said that the name is 'a reflection of its strategic home base in Singapore, which is a sound financial hub that is internationally known for its efficiency, transparency and best-in-class services'.

'The brand also leverages on Singapore's unique position as a rapidly growing private banking hub, attracting money flows not just from Asia but increasingly from the Middle East and Europe,' it said.

If one googles 'Bank of Singapore', there are some links to OCBC - but many more are to other banks which have branches here or because they have 'Singapore' in their name. OCBC must have thought hard about not using its own brand or retaining the ING name with its European echoes - which does matter to many Asians.

With existing clients, though, what's critical is that they are banking with 'Bing' - they go where he goes. Renato 'Bing' de Guzman, that is; the former chief executive of ING Asia Private Bank has a three-year retention contract with OCBC.

The behaviour of private bank clients in the region, by and large, is one of following their bankers. Of course, they also want their money to be held in a well-capitalised, well-managed bank based in a law-abiding jurisdiction.

OCBC's challenge is what happens when the 59-year-old leaves or retires.

But three years is a very long time in Asia's private banking industry.

OCBC has said BOS intends to become a leading wealth manager in Greater China, and reach out to new markets in Europe and the Middle East.

Getting new clients amid a very competitive landscape in Asia will not be a walk in the park. And trying to turn a profit while doing so will be tough and very costly.

But if a bland-sounding BOS brand offers comfort to people who have heard of Singapore's squeaky clean and trustworthy reputation, why not use it? It seems, though, that some Asian clients also prefer a dash of glamour plus old-world heritage, which often came via their private banks. After all, look at how China's 'red princesses', offspring of the country's elite, spend millions attending debutante balls in Paris.

Still, brands nowadays are like bankers and clients; they come and go. If, down the road, OCBC thinks a sexier name might resonate better, it's just a consultant call away.

OCBC's challenge now is to ensure that the current investment pays off as soon as possible. It also has to integrate Bing's style and way of doing things with OCBC's more conservative banking culture.