Local banks in Singapore have seen a 70% spike in job applications. Why is this so?
Despite foreign banks offering bigger paychecks, Singapore is continuing to attract a large number of banking professionals.
Indeed, local banks have seen a 70% jump in job applications, according to the Singapore Business Review.
The reason?
It has a lot to do with the big bonuses that local banks offer compared to their foreign counterparts, according to Lim Chaileng, director of banking, finance, and accounting at Randstad Singapore.
Lim added that instead of bonuses, foreign banks typically offer more competitive benefits and career exposure.
However, to combat this, local banks offer internal pay increments which can up to 15%, subject to promotions and performance.
For those bankers with experience between 5-9 years (mid-level candidates), hiring continues to remain strong for Singapore’s local banks.
“On average, we see about 80 to 100 resumes per week, with an equal proportion of candidates coming from banks which are undergoing restructuring versus those who have remained in a bank for an extended period of time,” Lim said.
Another factor that explains the rise in popularity in Singapore’s local banks is the perceived uncertainty linked to banking giants such as Barclays and Standard Chartered.
Indeed, in April this year it was reported that Barclays had shed approximately 8,000 jobs in four months as it ramped up cost-cutting.
Barclays also announced in January that it would discontinue its cash equities businesses in Asia and cut 1,000 jobs in the region.
Earlier in the year, it was reported that senior Western expat bankers are choosing to work in Singapore instead of Hong Kong due to the latter’s perceived problems with pollution and property prices.
Moreover, Singapore was seen as being a great place to raise a family due to its good schools and reasonable accommodation prices. It’s also helpful for Western expats that English is commonly spoken in Singapore.
