Want to leave the Asian banking sector to set up a fintech firm, join a charity or perhaps run a boutique hotel? If you work for RHB you have just under three weeks to make up your mind.
The Malaysian bank is offering a voluntary redundancy option, expiring on 23 September, to all local permanent employees, in a bid to improve productivity amid a slowing economy and a weakening currency, reports Reuters.
Will investment bankers at RHB take up the offer? On the surface it does seem tempting – 2015 has not been a great year for Southeast Asian investment banking, with revenues in the region down 14% to $621m as of mid-August. And as we reported last week, bankers are increasingly looking to move to the buy side.
But unless RHB bankers have already secured an exit route, they may be better off trying to stay in their current roles. The IB job market in Singapore and Malaysia isn’t strong – rival CIMB has recently cut jobs – and despite the high interest in moving it still remains notoriously difficult to shift into private equity or hedge funds in Asia.
Who might be more tempted by RHB’s offer? Malaysia-based risk and compliance professionals could well want to attempt a move to Singapore, where salaries are higher. Local skill shortages in risk and compliance mean banks in the Republic are typically open to considering overseas CVs.
Meanwhile:
Deutsche Bank could sell its 20% stake in Chinese lender Hua Xia Bank. (Wall Street Journal)
Payment network Nets appoints DBS MD as new chairman. (Straits Times)
Templeton’s Mark Mobius says China’s stock selling curbs are “alarming”. (Reuters)
China growth under control, says ANZ exec. (Yahoo)
Goldman Sachs is sticking with its bullish view on Chinese stocks in Hong Kong. (Bloomberg)
Traders rain on Beijing’s victory parade. (Wall Street Journal)
Recruitment boom ahead for local Indian wealth managers. (Reuters)
Meet the Chinese banker who loves quoting Shakespeare. (Straits Times)
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