<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Sep 21, 2008
What a harrowing week it was for...
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Bank Employees: The suits show signs of fraying at Lehman
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Gracia Chiang
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Looking smart does not appear to be a top priority at the Singapore office of now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers anymore.
'Most people no longer wear ties and some even put on collared T-shirts and jeans,' said an employee in his late 20s, who did not want to be named. 'Lunches are two-hour long and people knock off at 5 or 6pm.'
It's dark days for the folk working at the New York headquartered investment bank, which has 25,000 employees worldwide, including 250 in its Suntec Tower Five office here.
The bank shocked the financial world when it announced last week that it would file for bankruptcy.
Said the employee: 'Monday was the lowest point. With not much information from the top, what we knew came from the news.'
Anxious, the staff at Suntec kept checking the Internet. Groups retreated to corners and talked in hushed tones on their cellphones, presumably to headhunters, the employee added.
But staff continued to answer phone calls from clients. Others called their customers to allay fears.
Then on Wednesday, 'the atmosphere picked up' when it was reported that British bank Barclays would rescue Lehman's core US business. A day later, the bank said it had hired investment bank Rothschild to advise it on the sale of its Asia operations.
Lehman Brothers used to have a presence here but withdrew in the 1990s when it decided to concentrate on its US business. In the last four years, it expanded its operations in Asia again and its Singapore office had grown from 60 employees two years ago to 250 now.
'I'm not exactly worried. Lehman Brothers recruit top people, so I don't think there will be a problem in getting another job. We can just take a break and relax. I wouldn't mind that,' said the employee. He expects to get his pay cheque for this month.
Over at the office of Merrill Lynch, another beleaguered financial house, the mood was more hopeful. Merrill's Singapore operation comprises about 800 front-end banking staff supported by 900 in back-end operations and operating from three locations: Marina Bayfront, Millennia Tower and HarbourFront.
The investment bank announced that it was being taken over by Bank of America last week. The buyout is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.
One employee said that while business carried on as usual, calls from clients were down by at least 60 per cent. Most were inquiries rather than calls to cut deals.
He said: 'We're not Lehman so that's encouraging. Without the merger, we'll be worse off. It seems everyone is going to have a job until next January.'
He added that staff were asked to stay focused even as some asked their bosses about retention packages after the merger.
'Now that our investment bank has been bought by a commercial bank, we expect our salaries to be slashed but I don't think it's going to hit anyone very hard,' he said.
'I don't think people are going to stop going to restaurants or anything like that. I think most people here can already retire comfortably now.' [email protected]
=> Funded by Sporns' SeePF under the auspices of Ho Jinx, the bitch?
What a harrowing week it was for...
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Bank Employees: The suits show signs of fraying at Lehman
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Gracia Chiang
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Looking smart does not appear to be a top priority at the Singapore office of now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers anymore.
'Most people no longer wear ties and some even put on collared T-shirts and jeans,' said an employee in his late 20s, who did not want to be named. 'Lunches are two-hour long and people knock off at 5 or 6pm.'
It's dark days for the folk working at the New York headquartered investment bank, which has 25,000 employees worldwide, including 250 in its Suntec Tower Five office here.
The bank shocked the financial world when it announced last week that it would file for bankruptcy.
Said the employee: 'Monday was the lowest point. With not much information from the top, what we knew came from the news.'
Anxious, the staff at Suntec kept checking the Internet. Groups retreated to corners and talked in hushed tones on their cellphones, presumably to headhunters, the employee added.
But staff continued to answer phone calls from clients. Others called their customers to allay fears.
Then on Wednesday, 'the atmosphere picked up' when it was reported that British bank Barclays would rescue Lehman's core US business. A day later, the bank said it had hired investment bank Rothschild to advise it on the sale of its Asia operations.
Lehman Brothers used to have a presence here but withdrew in the 1990s when it decided to concentrate on its US business. In the last four years, it expanded its operations in Asia again and its Singapore office had grown from 60 employees two years ago to 250 now.
'I'm not exactly worried. Lehman Brothers recruit top people, so I don't think there will be a problem in getting another job. We can just take a break and relax. I wouldn't mind that,' said the employee. He expects to get his pay cheque for this month.
Over at the office of Merrill Lynch, another beleaguered financial house, the mood was more hopeful. Merrill's Singapore operation comprises about 800 front-end banking staff supported by 900 in back-end operations and operating from three locations: Marina Bayfront, Millennia Tower and HarbourFront.
The investment bank announced that it was being taken over by Bank of America last week. The buyout is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.
One employee said that while business carried on as usual, calls from clients were down by at least 60 per cent. Most were inquiries rather than calls to cut deals.
He said: 'We're not Lehman so that's encouraging. Without the merger, we'll be worse off. It seems everyone is going to have a job until next January.'
He added that staff were asked to stay focused even as some asked their bosses about retention packages after the merger.
'Now that our investment bank has been bought by a commercial bank, we expect our salaries to be slashed but I don't think it's going to hit anyone very hard,' he said.
'I don't think people are going to stop going to restaurants or anything like that. I think most people here can already retire comfortably now.' [email protected]
=> Funded by Sporns' SeePF under the auspices of Ho Jinx, the bitch?
