Singaporean banks are boosting their staff numbers in China, but are finding that hiring high-level bankers can be challenging.

OCBC opened new offices in Guangzhou and Chengdu last month and a Beijing branch is in the pipeline as the bank plans to achieve a 1,000-strong local headcount by 2010. Leong Wai Leng, chairman of OCBC Bank China, tells us that recruitment has focused on sales, service, relationship management, middle and back-office operations roles.

Chinese customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their banking needs, she says: “This in turn has seen banks going on an aggressive recruitment drive to build up their pool of qualified front-office bankers.”

Leong believes that recruiting experienced bankers is not always possible for firms expanding in China. She explains: “We not only hire skilled personnel from within the financial services industry, we also recruit fresh graduates and mid-management staff looking for a career switch to the banking sector to build up our talent pool.”

China is also important to the two other main Singaporean banks. Last month UOB bought a stake in Chinese lender Evergrowing Bank, and it is also expanding its own Chinese franchise. DBS doesn’t have shares in a Chinese bank like its Lion City rivals, although it does part-own a Chinese fund management company, and its new CEO, Richard Stanley, is a former head of Citigroup China.

But is this growth luring more Singaporeans to work in China? Fabrice Desmarescaux, head of Asia Pacific financial services at Spencer Stuart, says Singaporean bankers are slowly becoming keener to relocate. “They have a natural advantage over other expats in China as most of them speak Mandarin. This is an opportunity that the local banks need to exploit,” he adds.

Senior Singaporean bankers still need some convincing before considering a Chinese job, says Desmarescaux. “China can be a tough environment and often it’s their families’ reluctance to go there which stops the older bankers from moving.”