Barclays and Credit Suisse are gradually trimming their physical presence by decreasing office space in Singapore.
Citing data released by Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants, Bloomberg reported that global banks vacated approximately 500,000ft² of leased space in the city since 2011, enough to seat 3,800 staff.
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Almost 80% of that is in the central business district, data tracked by the real estate broker show.
This move comes after global regulators are imposing tougher regulations on capital to liquidity among others, which forced banks to reduced staff and scale back operations in Singapore
It was further fuelled by Singapore’s four-year campaign to control the hiring of foreigners resulted in intense competition for local workers and made it more expensive to recruit them, dissuading banks from adding back-office staff, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Singapore head Chris Archibold told the publication.
"The banking industry is undergoing a huge amount of change, especially around its capital-intensive businesses, which means there’s less jobs," Archibold added.
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By GlobalData"Globally and locally, there have been various bits and pieces put in place by various governments that have drastically affected the banks."
