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Banks in Singapore will focus on local workforce to ensure talent growth
- Posted on October 23, 2020
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By Karan Kapoor
Banks in Singapore claim they retain a solid local centre of the workplace while increasing the new talent line. Their comments came as the Monetary Authority of Singapore encouraged financial institutions to train Singaporean leaders and widen the pool of talent.
Standard Chartered stated that in recent years, staff levels have grown from 8,000 to 10,000, with Singaporeans accounting for 70% of the headcount.
"The bank has invested heavily in cultivating Singaporean entrepreneurs, with 70% of its management team in Singapore are Singaporeans," said in a statement. "The bank also has many key Singapore members across global and regional positions, and currently there are 140 Singaporeans posted overseas."
DBS, on the other hand, said that Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) made up over 90% of its 12,000 strong staff, adding that the bank is committed to "developing local workers at all levels while providing a good balance to local and foreign talent”. All members of the group management committee headquartered in Singapore, including the chief executive of the bank Piyush Gupta and the heads of core business and support functions, are Singaporeans and PRs.
Singaporeans or PRs make up around 75% of UBS' workers. It has about 3,000 employees across various departments. Key members of the Singaporean management committee include Asia-Pacific chairman, Edmund Koh.
A UBS spokesperson said, "We believe in the importance of long-term succession planning and talent development, which is why we have been nurturing the future pipeline of financial leaders through our UBS University as well as our latest UBS-SUPER programme.” The bank’s plan seeks to assist students and mid-career staff in building sustainable capabilities for the finance market to come.
HSBC said that more than 85% of its employees are Singaporeans or PRs, with nearly 75% holding senior staff positions. There are also 250 Singaporeans working at senior positions inside the bank overseas.
A spokesman of HSBC said, “Our support extends to building a strong Singapore core, and we have policies and measures to invest, develop and promote Singaporean talent – both within Singapore and abroad. As an international bank, HSBC also unreservedly supports diversity and inclusion as something that reflects our values but also makes for a stronger and more sustainable organisation.”
Meanwhile, locals constitute 90% of the headcount for the OCBC community in Singapore. Jacinta Low, its human resource planning head, said, “When we are looking to hire someone for a role, we look for candidates with the right skills and experience which best fit the role. We also look out for whether the candidate embodies values which align with our organisation's core values.”
Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive of United Overseas Bank, added that while it has adjusted the hiring plans for the year, it does not plan to retrench due to the pandemic.
This is a great initiative taken by the banks of Singapore. They are making the country more self-reliant, moving towards a better economy. The more local staff they have, the more it will help the country and boost the nation’s economy.
