The hot Singapore banking job emerging from the pandemic

It’s not just technologists and traders who are finding themselves in demand at banks in Singapore during the pandemic.

At UOB’s results presentation yesterday the bank announced that it has set up new restructuring teams to assess borrowers who have recently taken a debt holiday as the bank prepares for the gradual rollback of government debt relief measures towards the end of 2020.

Not all UOB’s restructuring positions are being filled internally, says a Singapore-based recruiter who asked not to be named.

For example, UOB is already hiring a VP in its group special asset management unit who will negotiate, execute and monitor the “progress and effectiveness” of debt restructuring plans, according to its careers website. To land this role, which sits within the wider credit and risk management department, you will need at least six to eight years’ experience in lending, credit or restructuring recovery in corporate banking or commercial banking. Insolvency and corporate finance/M&A knowledge (to help nurse back businesses) is an added advantage.

There are a handful of restructuring vacancies on offer at other Singaporean banks, too. OCBC and DBS both have roles in their special asset management teams. A relationship manager position at OCBC, which demands 10 years’ experience, tasks you with driving the “resolution of a portfolio of classified and weak credits” and working with insolvency practitioners on remedial strategies.

UOB, OCBC and DBS have all set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with future credit impairments. The Singapore recruiter expects the demand for restructuring candidates to rise in late 2020 and into 2021 as more banking clients face financial difficulties. This is likely to fuel musical-chairs  hiring as banks rush to replace staff who leave.

“Various relief programmes and laws put in place now might result in low non-performing loans and low delinquency during this period,” UOB’s chief financial officer Lee Wai Fai said yesterday, referring to the first half. “While we remain committed to support customers through difficult times, we are also expecting credit costs to rise when most moratoria end as not all customers can emerge out of this crisis the same,” he added.

UOB’s non-performing loan ratio was 1.6% in the second quarter, up from 1.5% a year previously. But the bank has factored in a peak NPL ratio of 3% to 3.2%.        

Photo by 贝莉儿 DANIST on Unsplash     

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