No more laughing their way to the bank

Her tale is one that is not uncommon in the global financial industry, where it is widely known that the sector's relatively high pay is a trade-off for a lack of job security.

Lim Chai Leng, director, banking & financial services, Randstad Singapore, concurs with this phenomenon. Be it a sudden change in strategic direction by the leadership, competition from fintechs, or the breakneck pace of digital transformation rendering jobs redundant, it is clear that many areas of banking are becoming obsolete.

Asian banks have not been spared either. Japan's largest lender, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group , is cutting half its Asian investment banking workforce outside its home country, making redundant abut 60 MUFG Securities staff in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. It makes up about 12 per cent of the overall Singapore economy, employing about 160,000 workers, or 4.5 per cent of the workforce.

Up to 10 years ago, they would go after large, established, highly reputed financial institutions, he points out. But things are different now. Singapore remains a thriving finance hub, with many banks setting up their headquarters here to leverage opportunities in the Asean region, which is seen as the next growth hotspot. The upcoming digital banks here are also an indication of the sector's progress.Current bankers may be jittery about their future prospects, but interest from students remains high.

UOB saw its number of Management Association programme applicants go up from 25,000 last year to 35,000 across Asean vying for about 40-50 spots in the region. The growing spotlight on local banks takes place at the same time as some global banks - especially the US and European lenders - slow down hiring activities in Asia Pacific as they prioritise their operations back home, say HR consultants.

"Working in the banking industry is no longer all about making the most money in the shortest among of time," he says."Employees want stability and room for progression." Financial firms are also outsourcing parts of their internal processes to emerging markets such as India and the Philippines, or to business process outsourcing companies to generate cost savings, she says.

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