Singapore’s MAS is engaging more with banks on local hiring

Bloomberg

Singapore’s financial regulator will step up efforts to urge banks to hire more citizens and develop a strong local leadership pipeline, according to its chief.
“Protecting and growing Singaporean jobs, especially in current economic conditions, is a top priority,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon wrote in a letter in the Straits Times.
The MAS confers with senior management at financial firms on the makeup of their workforces and plans to grow the “Singaporean core,” Menon said. “We will intensify these engagements,” he said.
His comments were in response to a call by former banker Raymond Koh for authorities to scrutinise the composition of senior management at banks to ensure there are more Singaporeans, rather than foreigners who hold permanent residence.
The regulator “closely monitors” the workforce profiles of financial institutions by citizens, permanent residents and foreigners, Menon said. “We want to see a strong Singaporean core complemented by high-quality and diverse foreign talent in every major FI,” he said.
Singapore’s government is trying to strike a balance between citizens and international talent in the financial hub, where home-grown banks including DBS Group Holdings Ltd. compete with global firms such as Standard Chartered Plc and Citigroup Inc.
Singaporeans make up 70% of senior management roles in retail banks’ local functions, the MAS estimates. The proportion is about 43% across the entire sector, reflecting Singapore’s role as an international financial center, Menon said.
“As our financial sector attracts more regional and global HQ functions, it creates more good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans,” said Menon.
“But it also means a higher proportion of foreigners in senior management in these functions as FIs understandably draw from a global talent pool to fill these positions.”
He added that the monetary authority has been working with financial firms “to develop a strong local leadership pipeline, and the industry is making progress.”
Singaporeans make up 70% of overall workers in the financial industry, and permanent residents comprise 14%, according to MAS’s estimates. The regulator wants to see a higher local proportion in areas including technology and risk management, Menon said.