National Australia Bank (NAB) has made two senior regional appointments in an aim to expand its presence in Asia.

Based in Singapore, Dean Cleland will become head of private financial services and will lead the bank’s retail and private wealth business in the Asia region.

He will work closely with NAB’s private wealth franchise in Australia to help both local clients in Asia as well as private clients who have family, business or investment links to Australia and New Zealand.

Before joining NAB, Cleland was most recently a China programme director and Asian core engine programme director for ANZ. Before that, he was ANZ’s head of retail for South and Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Mark Borton has been appointed as NAB’s head of product management in its global transaction banking business, Asia.

Based in Singapore, Borton will be responsible for leading the development and extension of the bank’s Asia global transaction product management capabilities. His initial focus will be on trade finance, payments and cash management, including the technology platforms that support these products.

Borton joined NAB in Australia in 2010 as head of trade finance products. He has more than 20 years of experience in product management, cash and trade operations covering the European and North Asian markets.

Before joining NAB, Borton held various senior executive positions at Standard Chartered Bank in both Hong Kong and London. He currently chairs the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Australia Banking Committee, and also participates in Swift/ICC committees.

The appointments follow closely on the heels of the relocation of David Thorn, NAB’s global head of consumer sectors, to the Asia region. “These represent significant milestones in our agenda to accelerate the growth of our core businesses in private wealth, business banking and wholesale banking, and they also underline the bank’s commitment to deepen our footprint in Asia,” says Spiro Pappas, NAB’s CEO, Asia.