The secret is out. Banks hire foreigners and get them to apply PR in order to beef up the percentage of "local".

[A Singaporean]

https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2...nowledge-that-some-banks-sideline-sg-talents/

 

[Pinkieslut]

Retired banker: Common market knowledge that some banks sideline SG talents
Retired Singaporean banker Raymond Koh Bock Swi wrote to ST Forum urging the government to examine the workforce composition in banks operating in Singapore. His letter was published in ST today (‘Forum: Workforce composition in banks needs to be examined‘, 15 Aug).

He wrote to ST Forum in the midst of a public uproar over a recent finding by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) that 30 of the 47 companies put on watchlist for suspected discriminatory hiring practices, came from the financial and professional services sectors. The 30 were found to have a “high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities” (‘SG banker: My trading floor full of staff from “a particular Asian country” with family members too‘).

In one financial institution, almost three-quarters of their PMETs are of the same nationality and in another bank, almost two-thirds of the PMETs are also of the same nationality, MOM revealed. It’s not known why MOM decided to issue so many work passes to these foreigners of the same nationality working in those banks in the first place.

Retired banker: Misleading to combine the Singaporeans and PRs

Retired banker Mr Koh wrote, “As a retired senior banker, I can say categorically that in the past two decades, many foreigners hired in Singapore’s finance sector have been for upper-middle to senior management positions.”

“Once hired, these foreign staff can easily and in a short time secure their permanent resident (PR) status in Singapore. Therefore, when analysing the actual makeup of local staff, it is misleading to combine the Singaporeans and PRs.”

Mr Koh was refuting what the banks told the media recently that they do maintain a strong local core in their workforce (‘Banks say large majority of their employees are “locals”‘).

Mr Koh went on to make several proposals in his letter:

• Banks should provide the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Manpower Ministry with their workforce composition, detailing local hires (Singapore citizens only) versus others (foreign hires and PRs).
• The percentage of Singaporeans making up the “senior” staff should also be provided.
• A minimum percentage of hired locals against the total workforce should be considered, like 90 per cent for Singapore banks and 85 per cent for non-Singapore banks.
• Certain key positions, like human resource head, operations head and compliance roles, should be held only by locals (unless exceptionally justified). Where foreign expertise is needed, there should be clear transition plans to train Singaporeans to assume the said responsibilities in the coming years.
• Any exception to the workforce composition should require special approval from the regulatory or government authorities.

“The financial sector is an important one for Singapore but we need to constantly train, upgrade and protect these jobs for Singaporeans, while concurrently welcoming foreign investments,” he said.

“It has been common market knowledge that certain big, long established foreign banks have been sidelining Singaporean talent in favour of foreign hires, and I strongly urge the authorities to more closely scrutinise the situation in our finance industry.”

Mr Koh is a retired Singaporean banker with many years of experience in the banking industry. According to the information in Reuters, Mr Koh began his career as a consumer lending officer at OCBC. He also worked in Bank of Montreal and Bank of America. He was the Assistant General Manager & Head of Corporate Banking in Rabobank Nederland. His last position before his retirement was Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Credit Committee in Arab Bank.

Mr Koh himself is a living proof that Singapore does have its own talents and that Singaporean talents are more than capable to hold senior positions in banks.

 

[Pinkieslut]

Forum: Workforce composition in banks needs to be examined
The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the economic outlook for Singapore dramatically. Singaporeans have been told to expect even more job losses, retrenchment and hiring freezes.

We need to make protecting our own citizens and their livelihoods a priority.

As a retired senior banker, I can say categorically that in the past two decades, many foreigners hired in Singapore's finance sector have been for upper-middle to senior management positions (Banks say they keep strong local core in workforce, Aug 13).

Once hired, these foreign staff can easily and in a short time secure their permanent resident (PR) status in Singapore. Therefore, when analysing the actual makeup of local staff, it is misleading to combine the Singaporeans and PRs.

The loss of lucrative professional, manager, executive and technician jobs to foreigners is a touchy issue in Singapore in the current economic circumstances, and given that the banking industry is a fairly mature one, I would suggest the following:

• Banks should provide the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Manpower Ministry with their workforce composition, detailing local hires (Singapore citizens only) versus others (foreign hires and PRs). The percentage of Singaporeans making up the "senior" staff should also be provided.

• A minimum percentage of hired locals against the total workforce should be considered, like 90 per cent for Singapore banks and 85 per cent for non-Singapore banks.

It seems quite generous to have some banks take in 30 per cent foreigners for their commercial banking operations in Singapore.

• Any exception to the workforce composition should require special approval from the regulatory or government authorities, again with rationale supporting justification.

• Certain key positions, like human resource head, operations head and compliance roles, should be held only by locals (unless exceptionally justified). Where foreign expertise is needed, there should be clear transition plans to train Singaporeans to assume the said responsibilities in the coming years.

The financial sector is an important one for Singapore but we need to constantly train, upgrade and protect these jobs for Singaporeans, while concurrently welcoming foreign investments.

It has been common market knowledge that certain big, long established foreign banks have been sidelining Singaporean talent in favour of foreign hires, and I strongly urge the authorities to more closely scrutinise the situation in our finance industry.

Raymond Koh Bock Swi

 

[kryonlight]

Singapore cannot have too many local chink financial talents otherwise the salaries for Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and Prime Ministers will have to be reduced.

 

[syed putra]

Its not just banks. Multinational of all creed snd kind doing the same. PR given to expatriate parents slso plus family members like children and spouse.

 

[sam heng]

I know a storeman who work in SG for many years gets his PR. Its not just in upper middle position! PRs are like cheap coe quotas to replace unborn sinkies.

 

[congo9]

Has been an age old practice, Singkie has been sideline.

 

[Confuseous]

Tharman urged banks to build up Singaporean core in 2013

This is not the first time MAS has been talking about building a “Singaporean core” in the financial industry.

As far back as 2013, then DPM and MAS Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam told the media that it is important Singaporeans take on a good spread of positions, including the best jobs in the front office for treasury and trading, in the financial industry (‘Crucial that Singaporean core can land top banking jobs’: Tharman).

He revealed at the time that MAS together with MOM had started “very active discussions” with banks in Singapore about their plans to develop a “Singaporean core”.

He said the Singaporean core in banking is “not just about numbers”.

“It’s about proactive career development, and making sure that Singaporeans are represented in the areas of the banks which are going to see growth opportunities,” he said. “It’s making sure there is a good spread of opportunities for Singaporeans within the different banking functions.”

Revealing to reporters for the first time then, he said the government had already noticed in the different “hiring mixes” among the banks in Singapore. That was in 2013.

In fact, prior to 2013, complaints and concerns about high numbers of foreigners in the financial sector have already been raised by Singaporeans. The high numbers were gradually built-up since Singapore signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with India in 2005.

In any case, 7 years after 2013, Singaporeans continue to share the same concerns and MAS continues to talk about developing a “Singaporean core” in the financial industry after a bank was found to have almost three-quarters of their PMETs recruited from the “same nationality”. MOM did not reveal details of the nationality.

That they do not dare even to mention the "I" word reflects all that is to be said about the gahmen's sincerity. Go ask any 8-year old kid, and he can tell you the answer. Wayang lah.

 

[congo9]

Singaporean are well schooled to a point of stupid

 

[lostvirgin]

Oh dear. If that is considered a secret. Singaporeans are awfully naive and simple minded....

 

[millim6868]

61 % are dumb , Singaporeans n PRs are different but PAPigs slwsys put these 2 together as residents, CB , my whole company majority mgrs are PRs ( foreigners) , 61% wst u think , i hardly see locals ......sad to see local jobless but i hope jobless ones sre the 61% thst voted PAPigs.

 

[batman1]

U close your eyes also know some banks (eg DBS) are staffed with majority foreigner staff.

 

[birdie69]

Oh dear. If that is considered a secret. Singaporeans are awfully naive and simple minded....

Only MOM takes the figures superficially, anyone works in MBFC or Raffles Place area will surely knows that the figures of core Singaporean working in financial sector is much less that the figure reported

 

[mojito]

Only MOM takes the figures superficially, anyone works in MBFC or Raffles Place area will surely knows that the figures of core Singaporean working in financial sector is much less that the figure reported

No! PR is Singapore core too! Don't be xeno!

 

[sam heng]

Almost all MNC are like that not just banks. Pharma, property, investment, marine, aviation, casino the list goes on.

 

[face the facts]

Almost all MNC are like that not just banks. Pharma, property, investment, marine, aviation, casino the list goes on.

population 5.8 mio
40% foreigners= 2,320,000

if 2,320,000 shits once a day, how many more metric tons of shit a day do we locals have to contend with last 2 decades?
enough said...

 

[kezgtree]

Retired banker: Common market knowledge that some banks sideline SG talents
Retired Singaporean banker Raymond Koh Bock Swi wrote to ST Forum urging the government to examine the workforce composition in banks operating in Singapore. His letter was published in ST today (‘Forum: Workforce composition in banks needs to be examined‘, 15 Aug).

He wrote to ST Forum in the midst of a public uproar over a recent finding by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) that 30 of the 47 companies put on watchlist for suspected discriminatory hiring practices, came from the financial and professional services sectors. The 30 were found to have a “high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities” (‘SG banker: My trading floor full of staff from “a particular Asian country” with family members too‘).

In one financial institution, almost three-quarters of their PMETs are of the same nationality and in another bank, almost two-thirds of the PMETs are also of the same nationality, MOM revealed. It’s not known why MOM decided to issue so many work passes to these foreigners of the same nationality working in those banks in the first place.

Retired banker: Misleading to combine the Singaporeans and PRs

Retired banker Mr Koh wrote, “As a retired senior banker, I can say categorically that in the past two decades, many foreigners hired in Singapore’s finance sector have been for upper-middle to senior management positions.”

“Once hired, these foreign staff can easily and in a short time secure their permanent resident (PR) status in Singapore. Therefore, when analysing the actual makeup of local staff, it is misleading to combine the Singaporeans and PRs.”

Mr Koh was refuting what the banks told the media recently that they do maintain a strong local core in their workforce (‘Banks say large majority of their employees are “locals”‘).

Mr Koh went on to make several proposals in his letter:

• Banks should provide the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Manpower Ministry with their workforce composition, detailing local hires (Singapore citizens only) versus others (foreign hires and PRs).
• The percentage of Singaporeans making up the “senior” staff should also be provided.
• A minimum percentage of hired locals against the total workforce should be considered, like 90 per cent for Singapore banks and 85 per cent for non-Singapore banks.
• Certain key positions, like human resource head, operations head and compliance roles, should be held only by locals (unless exceptionally justified). Where foreign expertise is needed, there should be clear transition plans to train Singaporeans to assume the said responsibilities in the coming years.
• Any exception to the workforce composition should require special approval from the regulatory or government authorities.

“The financial sector is an important one for Singapore but we need to constantly train, upgrade and protect these jobs for Singaporeans, while concurrently welcoming foreign investments,” he said.

“It has been common market knowledge that certain big, long established foreign banks have been sidelining Singaporean talent in favour of foreign hires, and I strongly urge the authorities to more closely scrutinise the situation in our finance industry.”

Mr Koh is a retired Singaporean banker with many years of experience in the banking industry. According to the information in Reuters, Mr Koh began his career as a consumer lending officer at OCBC. He also worked in Bank of Montreal and Bank of America. He was the Assistant General Manager & Head of Corporate Banking in Rabobank Nederland. His last position before his retirement was Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Credit Committee in Arab Bank.

Mr Koh himself is a living proof that Singapore does have its own talents and that Singaporean talents are more than capable to hold senior positions in banks.

Its too late.. n probably takes more than a decade to restructure... imo

 

[Confuseous]

Agreed. If they had lost another GRC, there would have been hope.