If banks did not exist, where would we deposit money? Where would we borrow millions and billions of dollars from? Where would we invest money? The largest five banks in Singapore, Development Bank of Singapore, The Post Office Savings Bank, United Overseas Bank, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have combined assets totalling more than $4.09 trillion SGD. These businesses rely on the existence of corporate and investment banks to succeed.
Corporate banking is experiencing a period of growth, according to the 2019 Banking Industry Outlook released by Deloitte, global corporate lending is on an upward trajectory. Banks in Singapore continue to generate steady revenue from corporate lending and transaction banking services. The global investment banking industry has yet to find its footing after the financial crisis.
Corporate and investment banking is one of the pre-eminent areas in finance and an attractive area of employment for banking professionals. Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said at the central bank's annual report media conference in 2018, the number of jobs in financial services and fintech grew by 6,900 in 2018 in Singapore, driven mainly by the banking and insurance industries, and hiring this year remains healthy, with job growth on track to meet the Industry Transformation Map target of 4,000.