Whether one gets 'stuck' in a local bank largely depends on how long one has been there. Basically the longer one remains in a local bank, the more 'stuck' one becomes. However, a local banking job can be used as a stepping stone to more lucrative jobs elsewhere. Many fresh grads realise this and that is exactly what they do, especially through the programmes (e.g. DBS Graduate Associate Programme, OCBC Graduate Talent Programme etc.). Spending more than 5 years in a local bank is not ideal for the driven, aspiring local uni grad over the long term, in terms of career and salary progression. This is because these banks are less meritocratic than hierarchical. On one end of this spectrum, you have the purely performance-driven corporate culture typified by many big American firms, on the other the hierarchical one embodied in Japanese firms where the number of years worked counts more towards your progression than work performance. The local banks' corporate culture tends toward the latter. Also, the increment and bonus given for most functions within these banks are inferior to their counterparts in the likes of HSBC, Citibank, JPM etc. The only exception that I can think of would be retail banking RMs, because their salaries and bonuses are largely commission-based and the commission structure is broadly similar across all banks licensed to deal in retail banking products in Singapore. If you're in corporate banking, the gap between the local banks and big foreign banks is even wider. Firstly, the local banks mainly serve local SMEs. The needs of such companies and the financial services they require are nowhere near as sophisticated as that of MNCs. Secondly, the local banks lack a global presence. Most of their presence is concentrated in Asia, with only a few token branches outside of it. This means that they are not able to support truly global companies that operate across vast geographies as well as a global bank. Think of it like a gym membership. If you're a jet-setting executive who has to fly all over the world, you'll want to sign up to a gym that has outlets all over the world rather than one that only operates locally. So even the MNCs that the local banks service tend not to be the big boys. So if you're an AVP or above doing corporate banking in a local bank, you're quite stuck. Even if you've been servicing big corporates, your experience and exposure are pretty local. Worse if you're in SME banking.