SG banks turn to upskilling as hiring sentiments turn ‘cautious’

Roles related to wealth advisory and anti-ML and fraud are most in demand.

The number of bankers and staff employed by Singapore banks mostly remained at the same level as in 2022, although most lenders chose to incrementally hire a few more people in their headcounts.

Data gathered by Asian Banking & Finance found that the number of employees working across 14 banks in the Lion City fell marginally by 0.19% to 54,872 as of end-2023. Including Standard Chartered’s workforce, there are a total of 63,872 employees across 15 banks in Singapore.

Of the “Big 3” banks, UOB recorded the highest proportion of new hires, with its headcount expanding 9.69%. UOB now employs about 11,057 people as of end-December 2023.

OCBC, including its subsidiary Bank of Singapore, trimmed its headcount to 10,939 employees.