Govt working with banks to develop ‘S’porean core’

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#1
Wonder who started the ironies - DBS? Foreigner CEOs always better than local bankers? Luckily UOB managed to takeover OUB years ago and continued its disciplined growth path while OCBC remains rock solid despite controlled foreign hirings...

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/gov...orean-core

singapore
Govt working with banks to develop ‘S’porean core’

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a dialogue with Indian youths on Sunday, organised by the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA). Photo: Don Wong
Tharman stresses need to strike the right foreign-local balance in financial sector
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BY
WONG WEI HAN
-3 HOURS 3 MIN AGO
SINGAPORE — Acknowledging that some financial institutions, particularly the foreign banks, have to do more to develop a “Singaporean core”, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday that the Government has been holding an “active discussion” for over a year with these institutions to improve the situation.

Noting that they have been “very responsive and positive” to the Government’s call, Mr Tharman stressed that it was “not just a numbers game”.

Pointing out that, overall, Singaporeans “still hold a very large majority of professional jobs” in the financial sector, Mr Tharman said: “There has to be real opportunities ... real training and exposure given to Singaporeans so that they can take up positions as their career progresses.”

Mr Tharman, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the Monetary Authority of Singapore is in “constant discussion” with the banks on the issue, while both he and Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin have been talking directly to the lenders’ chief executive officers.

He added: “There are differences between the banks — some of them have Singaporeans much better represented in the range of functions, some others have Singaporeans pretty much in the middle and back office. So it depends on the bank. But the local banks do a better job clearly.”

Mr Tharman pointed out that the Ministry of Manpower has adjusted its policies on employment passes to slow down the inflow. Reiterating that the composition of the foreign workforce was “very important”, he said that it was important for the sector to “stay open to true talents, and slow down at the middle ... very significantly”.

Mr Tharman was speaking to reporters after a dialogue with 145 Indian participants aged between 16 and 24, as part of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA)’s Youth Leaders Seminar. Almost a third of the 18 questions posed to Mr Tharman stemmed from concerns about the influx of foreigners and the competition for jobs.

Ms Ananthi Gunasekaran, a 20-year-old student at Nanyang Polytechnic, cited her experience during an internship with DBS Bank. Noting how there were usually more foreigners compared to Singaporeans in the lift as she makes her way to office, she said she was worried about her future in the financial sector.

In response, Mr Tharman said the Government is looking at the situation, including the “type of jobs” held by Singaporeans in the sector to “make sure that different functions of a bank ... have a right balance, within an institution as well as the industry as a whole”.

He acknowledged that “in some institutions — not DBS by the way, which has a large proportion of Singaporeans, overwhelmingly — there’s a larger proportion of foreigners”.

But Mr Tharman stressed it was important not to “focus on numbers but on proactive development of Singaporeans in their careers”.

He added: “Never close our doors, or else we’ll wither as a financial centre. Make sure we’ll be able to get true talents with real track records and knowledge about markets outside of Singapore. We need to have a right mix of skills … but make sure the core is very clearly Singaporean.”

Mr Kuppan Chockalingam, an 18-year-old student at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), asked whether the growing number of international schools would create problems for social integration.

Mr Tharman replied that the Government is not keen on having too many international schools catering to a single ethnic group or nationality.

Nevertheless, he noted that the presence of these schools, which allow expatriates’ children to continue their education uninterrupted, is needed for the Republic to maintain its competitiveness “as a business centre”.

“We’re careful about the balance, and we don’t intend for there to be unlimited growth of international schools … it’s important for those who intend to stay in Singapore for the long term to attend our local schools,” he said.

National University of Singapore law undergraduate Nithya Devi, 19, asked whether the transportation system can cope with the population growth as more foreigners come to Singapore. In response, Mr Tharman reiterated that the Government is “investing massively” in public transport. “We’re focused on this task — to improve the bus system in the short term and the MRT system in the medium to long term,” he said, adding that he expects significant improvements in seven to eight years.

Among the other topics raised by the participants included work-life balance and rising living costs.

Mr Tharman shared with the youths the importance of productivity improvements as the Government restructures the economy and creates better jobs for Singaporeans. Narrowing income disparity is also on the Government’s agenda, he said.

“Helping all young Singaporeans have the skills and employability is a critical strategy … It’s about continuous education, and we’re working profession by profession, to upgrade the jobs for those lower down on the income ladder,” he said.
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#2
Taking an objective view, I do not feel developing a "Singaporean core" is a good idea. What is more important is developing a working culture that fosters initiative ( to speak up against excess risk taking etc.) and allowing flexibility. After all, banks are private companies thus they should be more focused in improving top and bottom line by creating a culture that fosters such. A "Singaporean core" seems more of a political statement; the only "what is in it for banks" is the ability to market itself through the slogan of "a bank run by Singaporeans serving Singaporeans".

Also right now, the banking industry faces an oversupply of workers (competition from local undergrads) in many of its more glamorous positions. The only positions in banks where there are many job vacancies are the tech & ops & the sales area (people who sell you credit cards, endowment plans or unit trusts) in consumer banking groups. These are areas which are perceived by many Singaporeans as less glamorous if one is to work in banks. In areas like Institutional banking and Securities trading, we have many Singaporeans working (a majority) there in fact, so the Singaporean core argument might not be that strong after all.

And if you read the annual reports of our banks, many of their principal officers or committee members in the AR sounds and looks like Singaporeans/chinese with a few foreigners in there (DBS seems to be the one with more key foreign management as compared to the other 2 banks).
Disclaimer: I could be wrong on this point of observation as it is possible that the successors to our 3 bank's key positions are impending foreigners (but that's low probability).

<not working in banks, but starting work in the public sector>
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#3
FTs are 'hired guns', will run when times are bad or other places are better.
Locals are more likely here to stay.

developing Sg core means knowledge likely to stay in SG.

govt policy of attracting FTs flop because FTs hired their fellow villagers to SG. Instead of locals.
Knowledge dont flow to the locals.
"... but quitting while you're ahead is not the same as quitting." - Quote from the movie American Gangster
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#4
one of my classmates received the prestigious central bank' FSP to fund his master studies with one of the local uni. guess what - he was the only local out of a total of 3 lucky recipients for that year. the other 2 i heard went to indian and chinese.
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