Singapore Expats

Commercial Banking - 15 years senior experience

Discuss about getting a well paid job or career advancement. Ask about salaries, expat packages, CPF & taxes for expatriate.
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putnam
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Post by putnam » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 4:15 pm

Did you forget you wrote he couldn't make an omelet without first breaking some eggs?

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 4:31 pm

putnam wrote:Do you think you made a logical comment? I was talking about a general trend.
Maybe you might want to read what you wrote one more time.....
putnam wrote:That is not a theoretical thing, but just a empirical fact.
I experienced a similar situation.
So, does it sound like you were talking about a general trend? You followed it with a single fact, it happened to you. Where are the empirical facts?

My comment was about getting off his duff and making his way over here. Sometimes one needs to invest money to make money. All he needs is one interview. If he aces it. The trip might have been worth it. If he has 12 interviews and only makes it in one, still worth it. However, if he comes over here purely on spec, then if he finds nothing, it's still worth it as he will have gotten a better lay of the land, hopefully made some contacts and maybe started a network in which he can build on later. Or he may decide that it wasn't such a good idea at all so invest energies elsewhere. Or, if something happens later based on information gleaned from his spec trip here, then the investment of the trip over here will still have been worth it.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

tedotoole
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Post by tedotoole » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 4:36 pm

Ideally guys I'd prefer if you didnt turn my post in a mud slinging affair. If I wanted to go to the US or Canada, dont you think I would have applied there ? The potential treatment of my CV there is frankly academic because it is Singapore I want to come to and not anywhere else. My interests in Singapore are twofold, i. an opportunity for career enhancement and 2. a cultural opportunity for me and young family. I dont regard the US and Canada, with all due respect to them, as offering what we need with respect to 2 above

In the interests in getting back "on message", can somerne offer some proper tips / insight into the corporate banking market in Signapore and the current buoyancy or otherwise of the job market there for non Signapore nationals or non-residents?

Appreciate it.

putnam
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Post by putnam » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 4:58 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:
putnam wrote:Do you think you made a logical comment? I was talking about a general trend.
Maybe you might want to read what you wrote one more time.....
putnam wrote:That is not a theoretical thing, but just a empirical fact.
I experienced a similar situation.
So, does it sound like you were talking about a general trend? You followed it with a single fact, it happened to you. Where are the empirical facts?

My comment was about getting off his duff and making his way over here. Sometimes one needs to invest money to make money. All he needs is one interview. If he aces it. The trip might have been worth it. If he has 12 interviews and only makes it in one, still worth it. However, if he comes over here purely on spec, then if he finds nothing, it's still worth it as he will have gotten a better lay of the land, hopefully made some contacts and maybe started a network in which he can build on later. Or he may decide that it wasn't such a good idea at all so invest energies elsewhere. Or, if something happens later based on information gleaned from his spec trip here, then the investment of the trip over here will still have been worth it.
I don't see your point. If he can get enough interviews for jobs in Singapore while he is in Ireland, he does not need to come to Singapore before getting some interviews. My advice is that
if he cannot get a single interview after sending out his resumes many times, he should come to Singapore to do job hunting or give up searching for a job in Singapore.

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Post by putnam » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 5:05 pm

Actually, I read some posts discussing similar matters before, so I was making an inference of a generalized conclusions from particular instances. That's calld induction.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 5:09 pm

:roll:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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ecureilx
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Post by ecureilx » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 5:13 pm

putnam wrote:....inference of a generalized conclusions from particular instances. That's calld induction.
No redaction ?? :D :D




couldn't resist .. sorry ..

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Post by tedotoole » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 5:15 pm

putnam wrote:Actually, I read some posts discussing similar matters before, so I was making an inference of a generalized conclusions from particular instances. That's calld induction.
Putnam, do me a favour ? Stop positng to this thread. You are adding no value whatsoever.

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Post by Mad Scientist » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 6:44 pm

tedotoole wrote:Ideally guys I'd prefer if you didnt turn my post in a mud slinging affair. If I wanted to go to the US or Canada, dont you think I would have applied there ? The potential treatment of my CV there is frankly academic because it is Singapore I want to come to and not anywhere else. My interests in Singapore are twofold, i. an opportunity for career enhancement and 2. a cultural opportunity for me and young family. I dont regard the US and Canada, with all due respect to them, as offering what we need with respect to 2 above

In the interests in getting back "on message", can somerne offer some proper tips / insight into the corporate banking market in Signapore and the current buoyancy or otherwise of the job market there for non Signapore nationals or non-residents?

Appreciate it.
Financial sector are placed in different category ie QLB : Qualifying License Bank, FLB Financial Licence Bank. There are those with Private Institution like Swiss Bank which perform on a different platform altogether i.e exotic and instruments like derivatives.
Local Banks are DBS, UOB . DBS has its own forex team and other banks are charge a percentage using their service. Not sure about UOB
Foreign Banks are Citibank, HSBC Stanchart, and the likes . Citibanks has its own team of forex too. Citibank, And HSBC I believe are the largest of the foreign bank followed by Maybank and Stanchart
Locals on average has about 2: 1 on saving. About 10 % (approx has about a million dollar local currency saved in banks and other financial instruments based on 2009 MAS report
Insurances companies here are more diversified in saving plus endowment or annuity or even straight forward life. Edufund, Prufund GElink Saving Bond are very well accepted here.
I gave you an overview and you can cast a wider net on your job search. Not only on banking jobs but other sector like insurance, equity or even wealth management. To be a corporate banker look for those Capital Venture Company which has it vehicle in SG. Usually VC from US has its foot here. These are the companies that need corporate banker.
I hope this enough for you to understand on the job search here
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.Yahoo !!!

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ecureilx
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Post by ecureilx » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 7:51 pm

MS: I drafted half of what you wrote before I decided you did a good job

To the OP: well, there are enough and more expats employed in Finance/Banking and Insurance sector here ..

If you are worth it, you will get in ..

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Post by BillyB » Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:17 pm

Most client facing / revenue based roles in Asia, regardless whether it is wholesale or investment banking, are centered very strongly on short term revenue, as opposed to long-term value add for the organisation. The mindset is quite different from the West. Risk and protecting any potential downside, at the expense of gaining someone for the long-term, seem to be at the forefront of the mindset here.

Can you hit the ground running? What will you bring them from day one? Can you leverage on relationships you currently have to create opportunities in Singapore? How will the bank protect their downside by bringing you here? What value will you be adding for the outlay and recruitment effort compared to hiring an experienced local banker who has an established client base and knows the landscape well? You will likely need to undertake MAS exams too. These are some of the things that you'll be asked.

You will get more traction on the ground by physically being in Singapore. Networking goes a long way here and gives you good penetration in getting in front of the right people, maybe not as much as in HK, but it's still good a good strategy. People tend to be quite open to making fresh introductions to their peers if they like you.

Make connection on LinkedIN, speak to internal HR in the banks, speak to some of the mainstream and boutique recruiters here to get a sense of what the market is doing. Ask them probing questions as they have a habit of telling you all sorts of crap and what you want to hear, and most don't know the market at all. You'll be able to tell who knows their stuff from who doesn't, and then look to work with them and see who they can get you in front of. I know ANZ, Citi, Stanchart, and DBS (a local bank) to name a few, are building out the commercial side, and I know entry to China is a big focus for many of the wholesale arms of the big players. Any existing clients or contacts in that space will be valuable.

If your schedule permits, and depending on the time you can devote to this, its worth coming for 2 weeks to meet face to face with as many people as you can. Obviously, line up as much stuff before you come out .

All the best!!

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Post by Mad Scientist » Mon, 11 Jul 2011 4:15 am

OP , sorry did not provide you more insight as my head as abit fuzzy yesterday
Coming to the subject of jobs in banking sector, as I noted you are in corporate banking, yes ?
What kind of corporate banking are you involved ?
Is it traditional corporate service or equipment lending hp or wealth management areas.
In SG , the level of service provided for personall account holder are divided into three tiers on average
Those who has saving of less than $200K are the classified as the ordinary account holder
Between $200K to 1 million are Wealth Management Account Holder
About $1 mil are private banking account holder. DBS has the most of these account holders which usually are business men
Citibank min. for this category is US 1 mil and Premier holder min. is US$ 3 mil.
So you may want to diversify your search not only on corporate but to personal banking sector.

Hope this helps
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.Yahoo !!!

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Post by JayCee » Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:00 am

tedotoole wrote:A credible, mature, professional corporate banker basically.
Do they exist, especially in Ireland? :o :devil:

Seriously though, what the other guys (not including putnam) have said is true, if you have the skills and you're patient, you will get something eventually. Try reading the efinancialcareers to see what opportunities are around at the moment and how the market is. Oh, and it's definitely conceivable that you could be recruited from abroad without stepping foot in Singapore, not saying it's easy but it's possible if you've got what they want, it happened to me and I'm sure to a lot more people here too
I HAVE MASTERS!

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Post by tedotoole » Mon, 11 Jul 2011 3:31 pm

Thanks Jaycee. I have no issue with coming to Singapore and wouldnt expect to be hired from abroad without setting foot in Singapore but would like to really maximise the week I spend there and that seems to me to require interviews set up in advance.

I'll keep trying!!!!

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