COMMON STANDARDS, EVENTUALLY

The amount of money that bankers and hedge fund managers take home is one of the factors fuelling the strong revival of Singapore’s financial industry.

Post-financial crisis, financial institutions in the West are finding the business environment increasingly harsh amid backlash and public anger. For instance, the United Kingdom government introduced a tax on bankers’ bonuses while other European governments increased scrutiny on hedge funds.

Last week, United States President Barack Obama signed into law a 2,300-page financial regulation Bill which mandated sweeping reforms, including limits on banks’ proprietary trading and their ownership in any hedge fund or private equity endeavour.

While Asian financial centres would benefit from this disparity in taxation and regulatory regimes — several hedge funds have already announced their relocation from London to Hong Kong and Singapore

— Mr Zink believes that the playing field will be levelled over time as countries arrive at a common set of standards.

USE THEM OR LOSE THEM

Upon taking the reins at Citi Singapore on May 1, Mr Zink was quick to identify talent retention and attraction — as the global financial industry recovers from the recent crisis — as his No 1 priority.

Said Mr Zink, a chemical engineer by training: “Dealing with people, motivating folks, making sure they have the opportunities that they want — that’s a daily event. For me, any chief executive in any business any where, that’s the most important priority.”

As financial institutions worldwide gear up to ride the rebound, the last few months saw a flurry of high-profile appointments and poaching among investment banks.

On this front, Mr Zink acknowledged — somewhat gladly — that Citi had been quiet compared to its rivals. “It is true that there are folks who are expanding , especially in high-end corporate banking – but then you ask the question: What are they trying to do? They are trying to build what we have,” he said.

You have to have enough scale that you can support those overseas ambitions through the capital you have to provide. But more importantly, it’s the talent. You have to have enough depth in your management team that when you open somewhere else, the culture of your institution travels along with you.

TOUGH MARKETS TO CRACK

As with many other industries, the China and India markets represent the Holy Grail for banks around the world. But these markets are notoriously difficult to crack, given their governments’ protectionist instincts.

In April, excessive red tape in India forced DBS to alter its strategy by pulling out of its retail-banking business and focusing instead on affluent customers.

Foreign banks in India account for about 6.5 per cent of the banking industry’s assets — a figure that has stagnated for many years. Compared to other banks, Citigroup, which displaced Standard Chartered Bank as the largest foreign bank in India in 2002, had relatively better fortunes. Citi has 42 branches across 30 cities in India.

Mr Zink, who was based in Guangzhou for three-and-a-half years before he was posted to Singapore, reiterated that apart from having a “clear vision” of what the profile of the business should be in a foreign market, patience and persistence are key.

Said Mr Zink: “You have to understand that it’s going to take a long time. But that doesn’t mean you just wait around for time to pass ... you have to work at it every day.