Chong Jin Leow, the head of BNY Mellon’s Asia Pacific asset servicing business, who was also appointed Singapore country executive only last year, quietly left the company in late March. BNY Mellon is tightlipped about the circumstances of his departure and any plans for the region’s future leadership.

Leow, an experienced custody and securities services executive who was well respected by colleagues and competitors, was unavailable to comment for this report.He won the “custodian banker of the year” award from the magazine ‘Asian Investor’ in 2009.

After confirming his departure, a BNY Mellon spokesperson in London said last Friday: “Our Asian asset servicing business is one of the fastest growing businesses in the company and as a result we need to think carefully about how we replace Chong.  Until a replacement is found, Chong’s management team will report to Steve Lackey, Asia-Pacific chairman of BNY Mellon.”

The spokesperson said Singapore-based Michael Chan remained the head of sales and business development for asset servicing in the region.