Black Swan Group AsiaPac MD, Richard Aldridge, was today quoted in Simon Mortlock’s efinancial careers article “The firms vying to run Singapore’s digital banks are already hiring”. The full article is on this link and listed below – https://news.efinancialcareers.com/my-en/3003073/digital-banks-singapore-hiring-compliance
The firms vying to run digital banks in Singapore are already trying to poach compliance professionals from the local finance sector to help ready themselves for regulatory approval, say recruiters.
Earlier this month the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) received 21 applications for up to five digital bank licences. While the identities of all the bidders are not known, companies who have declared themselves in the running for licences include Ant Financial, Razer, Sea, and a Grab-Singtel tie-up. Successful applicants will be announced in June and the new banks are expected to start operating in mid-2021.
The applicants aren’t all waiting until June to start the hiring, however. Regulatory compliance professionals working in financial services in Singapore have already “been approached” about jobs by the businesses hoping to build new digital banks, says Fen Teo, associate director of Robert Half Singapore.
This mimics the trend set in Hong Kong in 2018 when virtual banking applicants initially prioritised recruiting in compliance ahead of technology and other functions. “Regulatory compliance hiring comes first as companies don’t want to fall foul of the regulators,” says Teo.
Richard Aldridge, a director at recruiters Black Swan Group in Singapore, also says applicant companies have started to get in touch with compliance professionals, although they are also refocusing their current compliance teams to handle more digital banking work.
