Bank of America bets on Singapore as Hong Kong curbs lead to ‘brain drain’
Bank of America is reportedly shifting some of its dealmakers from Hong Kong to Singapore, as Beijing’s touch stance of Covid-19 muddies the water in the financial hub.
Dominic Tan, co-head of Asia consumer and retail investment banking, and Anastasios Pefanis, who head’s the equity capital markets syndicate in the Chinese city, are among top figures making the move to the twin-city-state, Bloomberg first reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
While the shift to will be on a temporary basis, it signals a long-feared trend, as Singapore’s eases its own pandemic restrictions.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam last month said it was “unarguable” that the city had suffered a “brain drain” over the course of the pandemic, which is anticipated to further bruise Hong Kong’s economy.
It follows the leader’s fears that financial institutions in the city were “losing patience” with strict measures and grounded flights, having had its borders effectively shuttered since 2020.
Beyond dealmakers, the bank appears to be bolstering its office headcount more broadly.
BoA has advertised nearly 30 jobs in Singapore via LinkedIn in the past week alone, with a raft of others having been listed over the past month.
It comes as Hong Kong’s jobless rate hits its highest since June last year, following months of businesses reporting poor retention rates.
Morning Wire has contacted Bank of America for comment.