Private banks are hiring with a vengeance, with some headhunters saying the frenzy of the heyday of 2007 is back. Also being heard is an old complaint that expats are coming here to boss over the locals.
But a check with several private banks revealed that they have been hiring mainly locals though the high demand does mean suitable foreign bankers will get some of the jobs here.
'We have never been busier, to be honest. We have just had three successive best months, pipeline is as healthy as I have ever seen it in my 10 years of recruitment in Singapore,' said James Rushworth, managing director, Profile Search & Selection.
He said it seems bizarre given how tough last year was for most people. 'Candidates are getting multiple ideas and offers, increasing wage demands - sometimes totally unrealistic . . . (and with) more firms having to 'buy back' talent, so retention is a real battle for HR/senior management again,' said Mr Rushworth.
'Seems like we have done a full circle and back to the crazy recruitment days of 2007,' he said.
While demand is hot, private banks are also getting a lot of resumes from candidates in Europe as Singapore's financial centre reputation gains traction.
David Lim, Bank Julius Baer head, private banking South East Asia and deputy CEO, Singapore, said the bank is not yet done with its hiring spree.
This, after the Swiss private bank said earlier in the month that it had hired two dozen people, a11 of them senior bankers, for its Singapore office as it continues to build up its Asian business. This is on top of the six senior bankers it has already added over the last four months.
'Our hires are mostly locals,' said Mr Lim, though in the resumes the bank has received, there are those from Hong Kong and Europe.
'We're finding resumes of bankers in Hong Kong, some are Singaporeans who were there, now looking for a role in Singapore; there are also European specialists looking to relocate here,' said Mr Lim.
Veteren bankers from elsewhere are heading here as they see that the business in Singapore and South Asia has a strong momentum, unlike in China which is trying to rein in the hot money flows.
'They are anticipating a slowdown in North Asia . . . there's more consistency in South Asia in the sense that the economies like Indonesia are more stable,' said Mr Lim.
One banker said the industry does have a long history of sending people from head office to head the business here.
'But things have changed, Asia has developed its talent, local contracts are more common,' she said.
The complaint about expats coming to lord it over locals could be more perception than widespread reality due to more overseas bankers trying their luck at getting work in Singapore.
Said one headhunter: 'It is true that there are far too many white men in senior positions in private banking here as a result of them having found jobs here when they lost their jobs in Europe in 2008.'
He noted however that more banks are localising and pointed to Julius Baer's recent hires.
An RBS Coutts executive said its recent new additions are mostly from Singapore, with some from India and a few internal transfers from the UK.
He was referring to the 65 people, 12 of them bankers, recruited in the first quarter of this year.
One banker said the private banking world is 'ethnic' based; so, for instance, Indian clients are typically served by Indian bankers.
A Bank of Singapore (BOS) spokeswoman said the bank gets applications from across various locations in Asia and Europe as well as from Singapore.
BOS - the former ING Asia Private Bank and now owned by OCBC Bank - is looking for over 100 relationship managers across the region over three years. It has hired 11 bankers to date, she said.
On the difficulty of getting suitable people, she said:
'The hiring landscape is competitive but we are continuing to attract interesting talents with BOS's unique differentiating proposition, that is we are a wholly owned subsidiary of a Singapore-headquartered banking group, dedicated to private banking.'
- The Business Times
May 26, 2010
May 21, 2010
Stanchart to hire 2000
STANDARD Chartered Bank, seizing the economic pickup in the region, on Friday announced plans to hire a whopping 2,000 more staff in Singapore by 2012.
It also pledged to boost its staff in South-east Asia by double-digit growth in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The bank, which earns at least three-quarters of its profit in Asia, currently employs about 6,000 staff in Singapore.
The new hires will include relationship managers, technology, risk management, and compliance personnel. A mix of junior to senior roles will be added.
And in a further stamp of confidence in Singapore's infrastructure capabilities, Stanchart on Friday became the latest bank to open a new facility in Changi Business Park. The 225,000 sq ft new building complements its planned new premises in Marina Bay Financial Centre.
Other financial institutions which have operations there include DBS, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citibank.
- The Straits Times
It also pledged to boost its staff in South-east Asia by double-digit growth in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The bank, which earns at least three-quarters of its profit in Asia, currently employs about 6,000 staff in Singapore.
The new hires will include relationship managers, technology, risk management, and compliance personnel. A mix of junior to senior roles will be added.
And in a further stamp of confidence in Singapore's infrastructure capabilities, Stanchart on Friday became the latest bank to open a new facility in Changi Business Park. The 225,000 sq ft new building complements its planned new premises in Marina Bay Financial Centre.
Other financial institutions which have operations there include DBS, Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citibank.
- The Straits Times
May 4, 2010
More in north-east find jobs
MORE jobseekers living in north-east Singapore are returning to the workplace again.
Over 1,200 residents found new jobs in the first quarter of this year, up from 488 people in the same period in 2009 - a whopping 150 per cent rise, said the North-east CDC on Tuesday.
Compared to the last quarter of 2009, the placement rate rose by 27 per cent, with 648 residents finding jobs in February alone.
In a sign that the economy was recovering, more jobs also came onto the market in the first quarter of the year. The 3,115 openings were almost 80 per cent more than what was available in the last quarter of 2009.
Attributing the increase to its ability to train job seekers and match them according to the needs of hirers, the CDC added that more residents had benefited from its employment assistance services.
Since November, the CDC has shared its jobs database and provided additional funds for three Local Job Placement Centres to help more unemployed residents.
It also saw less people seeking social assistance, with 1,107 cases in the first quarter compared to 1,600 cases in the same period in 2009.
- The Straits Times
Over 1,200 residents found new jobs in the first quarter of this year, up from 488 people in the same period in 2009 - a whopping 150 per cent rise, said the North-east CDC on Tuesday.
Compared to the last quarter of 2009, the placement rate rose by 27 per cent, with 648 residents finding jobs in February alone.
In a sign that the economy was recovering, more jobs also came onto the market in the first quarter of the year. The 3,115 openings were almost 80 per cent more than what was available in the last quarter of 2009.
Attributing the increase to its ability to train job seekers and match them according to the needs of hirers, the CDC added that more residents had benefited from its employment assistance services.
Since November, the CDC has shared its jobs database and provided additional funds for three Local Job Placement Centres to help more unemployed residents.
It also saw less people seeking social assistance, with 1,107 cases in the first quarter compared to 1,600 cases in the same period in 2009.
- The Straits Times
Bosses to hire more
MORE Singapore bosses expect to ramp up recruitment between April and June, and the proportion doing so is nearing the pre-recession peaks seen in 2007.
A survey of 564 top executives at multinational corporations in March shows 54 per cent expect to hire, buoyed by the strong economy recovery.
This figure is slightly below the 56 per cent peak between January and June 2007, when the economy was booming, said global recruitment firm Hudson in its latest quarterly report released on Tuesday.
The sectors most keen to recruit are banking and financial services, healthcare and life sciences, and manufacturing and industrial.
Only 3 per cent say they will cut headcount, compared to 19 per cent a year ago. They are from IT and telecommunications, media, public relations and advertising.But the optimism of bosses and strong economy did not lift the morale of Singapore workers as much as their counterparts in other parts of Asia.
In Singapore, 35 per cent say employee morale has improved while 34 per cent say it has declined and 31 per cent report no change, said Hudson, which carried out the survey in March amid a surging economy. But in China, for instance, the corresponding figures are: 45, 17 and 38 per cent.
- The Straits Times
A survey of 564 top executives at multinational corporations in March shows 54 per cent expect to hire, buoyed by the strong economy recovery.
This figure is slightly below the 56 per cent peak between January and June 2007, when the economy was booming, said global recruitment firm Hudson in its latest quarterly report released on Tuesday.
The sectors most keen to recruit are banking and financial services, healthcare and life sciences, and manufacturing and industrial.
Only 3 per cent say they will cut headcount, compared to 19 per cent a year ago. They are from IT and telecommunications, media, public relations and advertising.But the optimism of bosses and strong economy did not lift the morale of Singapore workers as much as their counterparts in other parts of Asia.
In Singapore, 35 per cent say employee morale has improved while 34 per cent say it has declined and 31 per cent report no change, said Hudson, which carried out the survey in March amid a surging economy. But in China, for instance, the corresponding figures are: 45, 17 and 38 per cent.
- The Straits Times
May 1, 2010
100,000 new jobs: PM
MORE than 100,000 new jobs will be created this year, with many going to Singaporeans, if the economy grows by 7 to 9 per cent as forecast, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday.
But some proportion of these job openings have to be filled by foreigners on employment and work passes.
Said Mr Lee: 'I hope Singaporeans will understand this. If we want the buoyancy and bonuses which go with high growth, then we must accept a temporary inflow of foreign workers.'
Foreign workers are needed as they enable the economy to grow rapidly during an upswing and cushion the impact of a downturn on Singaporean workers, as was the case last year, he added. And given the projected strong economic growth this year, 'a higher inflow of foreign workers is unavoidable'.
But in the longer term, he said Singapore will cut back its reliance on foreign manpower as it makes a basic shift in economic strategy, following recommendations from the Economic Strategies Committee in February.
The previous strategy of relying on productivity growth and growing of the workforce through Singapore's population and foreign workers, which make up one-third of the workforce, is reaching its limits, said Mr Lee.
- The Straits Times
But some proportion of these job openings have to be filled by foreigners on employment and work passes.
Said Mr Lee: 'I hope Singaporeans will understand this. If we want the buoyancy and bonuses which go with high growth, then we must accept a temporary inflow of foreign workers.'
Foreign workers are needed as they enable the economy to grow rapidly during an upswing and cushion the impact of a downturn on Singaporean workers, as was the case last year, he added. And given the projected strong economic growth this year, 'a higher inflow of foreign workers is unavoidable'.
But in the longer term, he said Singapore will cut back its reliance on foreign manpower as it makes a basic shift in economic strategy, following recommendations from the Economic Strategies Committee in February.
The previous strategy of relying on productivity growth and growing of the workforce through Singapore's population and foreign workers, which make up one-third of the workforce, is reaching its limits, said Mr Lee.
- The Straits Times
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)