Royal Bank of Scotland is considering withdrawing from corporate banking in Asia, reports Bloomberg. And as it plans the potential cut-backs, some of its rivals are already likely to be eyeing up its client-facing staff.
CEO Ross McEwan held a series of meetings in Singapore on Monday to consider ways to scale back the bank’s Asian business, a person familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. The person also said that RBS’s 2,000 employees in the Asia-Pacific region could be affected by the withdrawal. “RBS would probably keep some operations in Singapore offering clients dollar, euro and yen fixed-income products,” he added.
RBS mainly services large corporate clients in Asia and the current speculation may prompt some of its corporate-banking staff in Singapore and Hong Kong to make pre-emptive exits rather than wait to see whether their jobs will be retained by whoever buys the RBS business, say recruiters. As we noted throughout last year, relationship managers in corporate banking are in high demand and banks such as Citi, J.P. Morgan and DBS will be watching developments at RBS with interest Share on twitter.
Meanwhile:
When it comes to the Asian bond markets, working for a smaller bank may be your best bet. (Business Times)
Bonus cuts expected at HSBC and RBS after fines. (Bloomberg)
It will be another weak year for the yuan, predicts Standard Chartered. (South China Morning Post)
Company boards play a crucial role in determining the culture at firms, says new study. (Asia One)
The slowdown in India’s financial sector has bottomed out. (Straits Times)