"Credit Suisse bankers in Singapore have issues with the UBS office"
Credit Suisse bankers in London may be generally content to move to UBS’s office in Broadgate, but the same cannot be said for Credit Suisse bankers in Singapore. They are also being asked to move office and the move is not palatable for many.
Credit Suisse’s office in the Lion City is located at One Raffles Link. This is in the Suntec City area rather than Raffles Place, which is where most of the banks are. Credit Suisse people have been very happy with this.
Suntec City is more chilled than Raffles Place. It has five top hotels nearby where they can meet clients, plus loads of fine dining and high-end bars. Because it's not in the 'downtown' area, traffic is also smooth most of the time. This means Credit Suisse people have been able to travel around the city easily and meet clients.
The UBS office is very different. It's located at 9 Penang Road, far away from everywhere. Sure, the building is very nice and brand new, but it's also very inconvenient. There are very few nice hotels or restaurants nearby. Lunch choices are very limited.
There are upsides: UBS Penang building has an in-house gym, which I'm told is nice. However, people also tell me that they don't want to be seen by colleagues when working out.
All in all, Credit Suisse people are not happy. It doesn't help that relationship managers at Credit Suisse Singapore are being fired, despite the apparent assurance from Iqbal Khan that they wouldn't be. It's a difficult time.
Chia Lin Hui is a pseudonym
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