The pathetic state of Singaporeans in the banking and finance industry

We did not become a financial centre yesterday. We have built a good reputation as a financial centre for the last 50 years. We are perhaps the most advanced financial centre in the region. And we don’t have the financial talents and needed to fill the top management positions with talents from third world countries when their financial systems are at best rudimentary. Maybe I am wrong, the financial industries of third world countries are superior and they have superior finance talents too. And given that they are better, it is only natural that third world talents should fill the top management positions of this first world financial centre.
 
Tharman and Chuan Jin have been talking to the CEOs of the banking industry to right this pathetic situation, to rebalance our lousy talents or to train our lousy talents for top management positions. Or is it just to make up the numbers, with many doing the backroom work or as junior staff? If nothing is done quickly, it will become a vicious negative cycle and Singaporeans will all be relegated to the backroom or to work in middle or lower management positions. Our banking industry will become heavily dependent on foreigners and can be held at ransom by them threatening to pull out. How did we work ourselves into such a shitty situation? What have our super talents been doing? On holiday or counting money in their bank accounts?
 
This is what Tharman said, ‘There are differences between the banks – some of them have Singaporeans much better represented in the range of functions, some others have Singaporeans pretty much in the middle and back office…’ Is this good enough? This is Singapore and not Timbuktu. Singaporeans should be represented in top management levels in most of the banks, particularly local banks. This is what developing a Singaporean core is all about.
 
The composition of foreign banks may be a bit more tricky to expect more Singaporeans in top management. But there is no reason why the top management of local banks should be staffed with so many foreigners. This kind of situation is a reminder of the colonial days when the colonial masters sat at the top to order the subjects, who were designated mainly as clerks or chief clerks, around. Are we taking the path back to the good old days when foreigners are our bosses? If we are just a corporation, a MNC, then there is nothing wrong with it. But we are a country, a nation, and this is our country, our nation.
 
Talking about training Singaporeans to fill top management positions? What nonsense! Shouldn’t Singaporeans have acquired enough expertise and experience to be training third world talents instead of third world talents training Singaporeans?
Someone or somewhere got short circuited and thinks that this island does not belong to Singaporeans anymore? And Singaporeans are from the third world, ignorant, unsophisticated and needing assistance and training from third world experts sent in by UNESCO. Singaporeans are begging to be trained by third world experts.

Over paying the super elite

It affects everyone when the system overpays in whatever ways. One unspoken and may be unnoticed fact is the grotesquely over paying of a super elite group in our system. This group of beneficiaries has members mostly in their 60s, 70s or older. These are very able people who have made good in life, with a lot of wealth and do not need a single cent more to live a life of unbelieveable comfort and convenience. They have everything material in excess. And with their dying years, many of them are going to die very very rich, with a lot of money unspent.

And they are still being paid by huge pensions, chairmanship, directorship fees, association fees, acquaintanceship fees, appearance fees etc etc. Many have long retired, many long past their useful lives, many past their shelf lives. But they are still collecting hundreds of thousands or millions annually, to fatten their bank accounts that they will have serious trouble using them.

For every one of these super elite, the amount paid could have been spread to hundreds or thousands of more needy people and make their lives so much better. On the other hand, paying these elites another million or a few more hundreds of thousands has become meaningless. It does not make a difference in their lives anymore than for them to smile at the bank statements showing how much more they are getting, that is if their face muscles still allow them to smile.

It is not that they are all worthless and not contributing or useless in what they are doing. The point is that they are in semi retirement, in retirement, or some, just passing time attending board meetings. But the most pertinent point is that what they are taking from the system is taking a toll on the income of many people, and making the lives of many people less comfortable. This need not be.

And this pool of super elites is swelling by the days. They are going to live till 80s or 90s, which means that the system must cater a budget to pay them the ransom they are demanding. The system cannot afford to keep feeding a group of super elites, oldies, that kind of obscene payouts for 30 or 40 years each. The money must come from somewhere. Where do you think this money is coming from? Who do you think is paying for them?

This system of paying the super elites crazily when they don’t need the money is best to be toned down, give them a small honorarium for their presence and wisdom. It is already an honour to have them, to give them some purpose and a little contribution, a status, a recognised position, a big title in some cases. What more do they want when money is no longer an issue in their lives?

It is necessary to redistribute the wealth of the country to those who really need them and not to those who don’t need them, those with abundance of money, and doing really very little except to grace the occasion and be in good company, to be adored in reverence.

NTUC helping PMEs

‘During the first “Future Leaders Summit” organised by NTUC yesterday (15 Jun) aimed at reaching out to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How said NTUC will do more to help the PMEs.

This will include providing assistance in skills upgrading, and more seminars and workshops….

He said, “The PMEs would also certainly face challenges at work, both in terms of looking for work, or placement, as well as progression – how they can make good in their respective careers….’

How to help the PMEs when they do not know how? Ask a simple question, why are the foreign and local companies employing foreigners instead of Singaporeans? Definitely the Singaporeans, schooled in the best universities and colleges, some with big city and big corporate experiences, cannot be worst off than those from third world countries even if their qualifications and experience are genuine. All things being equal, it can only mean that whatever training or courses we are giving or are going to give are inferior or not the right thing to give. It is better to send these PMEs for courses in third world countries or get the third world countries to come here and train our first world PMEs on how to find a job, how to qualify and upgrade themselves to make them more marketable. It is so sick to think that this is what our super talents believe in.

This is the reality on the ground, not training for the sake of training as if it is the panacea for employment and getting a good job. The other reality, a very painful one that the govt is still not doing much about it, is that the employment agencies and the foreign companies chose to recruit and employ their own kind. Why don’t our own employment agencies and govt and govt linked companies do the same, employ our own kind? This simple act of positive discrimination for our own citizens will solve all the PME problems. No need to waste time and resources on courses and training.

The assumption that our PMEs are not suitably qualified or lack the skills is false. Yes, our PMEs are being cheated of jobs here.

And the sad part is the local companies, including govt and GLCs are also happily and busily employing foreigners and not Singaporeans. For every foreigner our govt and GLCs employed, one Singaporean missed the boat. It is bull to say that the tens of thousands of Singaporeans are only good to drive taxis.

You want the truth?

Another reason to go to Hong Lim

MOE Offers SIA Youth Scholarship for Indian Students Only

Indiancolleges.com, 15 Jun 2013
Ministry of Education, Singapore is offering SIA Youth scholarship for Indian students in Singapore.
Study Subject(s): Courses offered by Singapore Junior Colleges.
Course Level: Scholarship is available for pursuing Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (or equivalent) certificate.
Eligibility:
-Nationals of India
-Born between 1995 and 1997
-Completed Standard 10 in the Year 2013
-Possess outstanding academic track record (at least an average of 85% / minimum ‘A’ with English as first language in the Standard 10 State/National examinations)
Duration of award(s): The Scholarship is for 2 years of Pre-University studies in selected Singapore Junior Colleges and is renewed annually subject to the satisfactory performance of the scholar.
What does it cover?
-Annual allowance of S$2,400 with hostel accommodation
-Settling-in allowance of S$500 (once only)
-Return economy class air passage
-Coverage of school fees (excluding miscellaneous fees)
-Coverage of GCE ‘A’ Level examination fees (once only)
-Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover.
How to Apply: There are 2 modes of application — online or hardcopy application. Each applicant should submit only ONE application and the online mode is recommended. Please do not send in a hardcopy application if you have already applied for the scholarship online and vice versa.
Scholarship Application Deadline: July 14, 2013

I copied the above from Singapore News Alternative. I presume that this is real and not a hoax.

Can we spend the money on our children?  I am sure this is not the only advert to one country. There must be more adverts to other countries? How many such scholarships will be given out and how much is the total? Can the MP ask in Parliament how much money have been spent on these scholarships and what is the annual budget. Also why is the govt spending money on other people’s children and not on our children? Is it because we got poor stock?

Why keep throwing taxpayers money to foreigners and children of foreigners? This is our money and any govt spending the people’s money better account to the people.

Deregulation is good for the banking and finance industry?

Who said so? The West said so. The bankers in New York and London said so. So we just follow, blindly, and things will be just fine. Today’s frontpage news,

‘SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has censured 20 banks in Singapore, after completing a year-long review of their rate-setting processes.
Singapore's central bank also wants to introduce a new regulatory framework to criminalise any future rate fixing activity.

Three local banks and 17 foreign banks have been censured by the MAS.
The local banks are OCBC, DBS and UOB.

The foreign banks are ING, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Macquarie, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC and Commerzbank.

133 traders from these banks tried to manipulate the Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR), the SWAP offered rates and foreign exchange spot benchmarks….’

The above is quoted from Channel News Asia online.

When the last financial crisis hit, the world’s financial institutions and framework were threatened to go down and collapse. Thanks to all the great recommendations for deregulations to allow the bankers to do as they pleased. And no man of any importance was found guilty or put behind bars for the crisis. The govts of the West could not find anyone doing anything wrong. How could they when the govts approved of what they were doing? Everything was legal and all approved by the govts. Oh, just one and because he was mad. It was written in his name, Madoff. So this Madoff was the only one found mad enough to be caught.

And did they know what caused the financial crisis? Yes. And did they do anything to prevent it? No? The whole damn system of frauds continues to run merrily in ever bigger scale and churning more paper profits.

So now what, 20 banks and 133 traders were caught here! Would any big fish going to answer or be put behind bars? No. I don’t think they can find anyone with a name ‘mad’ to nail. And ‘There was no evidence of “successful manipulation”.’ So most of them will get away scot free ya? Maybe a few small guys will be made an example of. The rest will get a tap on the wrist. Be good, be nice. Go home now.

And a big pleasant surprise, MAS is going to introduce new regulations and make some of these fraudulent practices criminal. Are we out of our mind? Deregulation is the right thing and the right way to go. More regulations are going against the recommendations from the Mecca of world finance.
Maybe we have come to our senses, that all that glitters from the West is not really gold. We need to find our own footings and do what is right from what we know best. It is time to stop blindly following the mad and irresponsible West in their destruction of the financial system. It is time to take stock, do the right thing, get rid of all the snake oils and dangerous products being sold here. Return the banking and finance system to basics, to the real business of banking and finance and not gambling and horse racing.

A few regulations are not going to help. It is the whole system designed by the West and the toxic products that need to be thrown out of the window. It is time to stop hiring the crooks from Wall Street and Fleet Street. It is time to send them home. It is time to do the right thing to protect our banking and financial system, to slow down, to scale down the wild wild west, free wheeling nonsense. As a financial centre, it is time to reset the standard and adapt only the safe practices, and be prepared to lower the expectations of the cowboy robber bankers. Only then can our system be shielded from the wild swings and frauds of the western system. We need to find our own way. The present one is flawed and treacherous.

There is an urgent need for a think tank group to examine what were wrongs and fraudulent practices and to make amends quickly.