Associate in DBS
 

Hi Guys,

Any one has any idea about the salary range for an associate in DBS. 5-7 years in exp.

Thanks,
LH

Depends on what department, if is backend support like ITS, Finance, HR, Marketing etc. should be around 3.5k.

Thnx. Not really back end. It's in risk management area. 3.5K sounds too low for some one with that much exp...

I think associate pay is around there, maybe 4k max. But why r u applying for associate position with 7 yrs exp? I think 7 yrs should be enuff to get manager or AVP job.

I don't know guys.... i've been quoted a figure of around 7k for same experience by my friends in other banks. DBS can't be that low!

It's not that DBS is low, more like you are applying for too junior job. Associate is usually for ppl with 2-4 yrs exp, unless you are switching career mid way, i dun think 7 yrs of relevant exp should apply for associate.

I was from treasury side last time around 5yrs after graduation already manager, so I would think 7 years should be either manager or AVP. Bear in mind that titles in DBS like most banks is inflated one. Manager = Senior Executive, AVP = Assistant Manager VP = Manager etc.

on average how many months of bonus is DBS giving (exclusive AWS)

I heard 4 months, which I think is not excessive given that most banks around the world have done really badly relatively.

if included aws>>>mean 5 months..

and you stated that not excessive given...

mean in the past on average can get 6-8month bonus, those who perform well can get 8-12month???

Am I correct?

in banks, pay is never excessive.

Get real
 

R u a degree holder? I dun think there is any AWS for degree holders in DBS..and lets get real, i dun think the average bonus is so much..dun expect anything more than 3 mths. Unless u are in sales role..then it's a different story.

I joined as an associate with 5 years of experience doing corporate credit at $4.4K. I had another friend join also as an associate doing risk management for bond valuations think he had ~$6k. Also associate rank.

er.. i dunno when you were in DBS but DBS doesn't have manager rank. They have a very flat rank structure which goes

Analyst -> Associate -> AVP -> VP -> SVP -> MD

Thats all they have for ranks.

I joined as an associate with 5 years of experience doing corporate credit at $4.4K. I had another friend join also as an associate doing risk management for bond valuations think he had ~$6k. Also associate too.

Unless you are clerical staff DBS does not pay AWS. So its strictly 12th months.

Serious
 

That's really strange..with 5 yrs' exp and they didn't offer u AVP rank? Even for your friend who's making 6k still associate?? We are talking about DBS rite..btw, I'm also associate, making 3.5k/mth only. Guess I'm underpaid.

Amongst the 3 local banks, who pays the best? I was one rank below AVP in foreign bank,drew 8+ with 3 years exp. Maybe local banks should stop underpaying their staff else all the talent will go to the foreign banks

There are alot of people complaining of excessive paying of employees.
I think this is a good thing. Take revenues as fixed, one dollar saved at staff compensation ultimately means 1 dollar more at net profit level. Keeping things simple, this 1 dollar saved goes out to shareholders as dividends. So it appears this becomes debate of shareholders vs employees. I would say pay the employees. They are the ones who work on the front line. Shareholder who contribute capital but not time and effort
Should take a backseat. Think this improves income equality also.
Just my cents worth

Don't mislead..
 

U are 1 rank below AVP and u draw 8+ with 3 yrs' exp?

I think that's the exception rather than the norm. Pls state if u r an investment banker, or in sales & trading front office. Or u are an RM and u included your bonuses..I'm sure 90% of the staff in your bank with your rank, do not draw your pay...we are talking about basic salary only.

Corp bank front office. Exclude bonus but my base pay had some bonus comped in. This is a bank initiative to avoid appearance of excess bonus. So typical annual bonus becomes only 2 months from previous 6-8

Don't mislead..
 

Fair enough..that's possible. Ya i know some foreign banks cut down on bonuses and increased staffs' basic pay.

U mentioned u have 3 years' exp? U mean in corp banking front office? What's your total no. of years of working exp?

If u only worked for 3 years, (i.e. u grad 3 yrs ago) and u are getting 8k+, that is really awesome..for someone not in investment banking/S&T.

3.5 years. First job straight after school. The figure seems high but it had some help from the bonus shift. Also, I was on an internal program for accelerate progression. My start pay was 4k+, coupled with the bonus shift adjustment, 8k is on the high side but I wouldnt say it was excessive against similar peers.

I know because when I changed job, there was a pay discussion and I still got 15-20%. If I was excessive versus my experience, I would think it difficult to achieve the same package.

yup DBS..and my friend joined them from a big 4 accounting firm as an associate with 6+K a month. But given our exp probably would be due for promotion in a year or 2?

I have since moved to a foreign bank with an even lower rank lol..but they pay 20% more. But pay is always > rank.

6k in 5 yrs ? MA program in foreign banks is a joke then lol..my starting pay is already 5k+

Big deal. You still have to show up in office and brown nose up your bosses. I sit at home and collect more than your slavery income.

There is a difference between MA program and Associate rank.

Your starting pay 5k is nothing to brag about. Top grads earn close to 10k starting pay. They probably think your start pay is a joke as well LOL

Lol thread derailed by chest puffing trumpet blowers who earn more than ordinary folks.

So your rank is analyst now in the foreign bank? I guess to sum it up, there is a quite a huge range in the pay within a particular rank. Another thread someone was saying that he got close to 9k as a AVP in a local bank. If your friend as an associate can get 6k+ I guess it's true then..

A senior officer in my new place. Rank structure as follows:

Officer > Senior Officer > Assistant Manager > AVP > VP > SVP > EVP

Lol.. not even assistant manager rank with ~7 years of experience. But about 5.5K per month.

To a certain extent, It doesn't matter what they call you but how much they pay you.

I used to be quite good friends with HR compensation colleague. There is a rank bandwith and depends on the bank policy, it either needs certain type of approval or strictly no exceeding.

I had a colleague who had worked 30 years for a foreign bank. As he did not have a degree, his rank was stucked at AVP. He told me that because of his rank cap, he have not been able to get any annual increment for several years.

As I was told, the rank below AVP has a cap of up to 10k per month. This is a ceiling and it does not necessarily mean that most people at that rank (i.e. 1 below avp) earn 10k pm.

It makes sense for a large bank with so many employees. Some sort of pay structure/scheme must be in place or else there is no consistency throughout.

Aiyo, you just graduate & start to work isit? Everyone with work exp know that there is such a thing as salary band.

The question is what exactly is the band in terms of min & max for each rank? You write long essay but never answer the most important question...

Did u have 5 years of pure credit experience without other experiences? $4.4k sounds abit low, too low in fact.

I had 3-4 credit experience only, but 9yrs of working experiences including audit firms and corporate finance. Currently not in Credit Analyst but trying to get in (not particularly DBS, but any bank). Do u think it's reasonable for me to ask for >$7k?

No leh, i had 1.5 years of operations experience, 1 year of pure credit and then 2 years of corporate banking RM experience.

Oh in that case probably 4.4k sounds reasonable.

But when u joined for $4.4k, did they give u an increment of 20% over your last drawn basic pay? My impression is normally this is how it works.

hey for DBS, usually how long does it take to get promoted from

analyst -> associate -> avp -> vp ??

assuming you join them as an analyst as a fresh grad

8yrs if you are in middle office and you are good
5yrs if you are in front office and you are good

ooh okay thanks!.. I heard from my friends that usually after a while (about 4 years) almost everyone will eventually become an AVP. But from AVP to VP might take very long..is it true?


Then how about those in back office like technology??

If your friend is right and everyone takes 4 years to move from analyst -> associate -> avp that would mean almost a promotion a year. If you ask me, I'd say the good performers might be able to experience this sort of progression. Most people with average performance (forced ranking below the top 10 percentile) would take probably something like 6 years or so to hit AVP. Then again, AVPs in different banks, even amongst the local banks, may not be exactly equal. I believe AVPs in UOB are easier to reach. I've seen AVPs in UOB move on to other banks with a lower ranks, abeit higher pay of course.

There is no such title as AVP back in 2004 in DBS. In fact title is only analyst, associate, VP, MD back then. Not even SVP.
Due to title inflation in the market, and to make the employees happy after many rounds of low bonus 2001-2004 and removal of fixed 15month salary base, DBS started dishing out these inflated titles without any meaningful wage adjustment.
However when market started to pick up in 2006 onwards, people left in doves to join foreign banks who were rapidly expanding, usually with 25% pay increment. A round or two musical chair rotation (at 20% every step) and high yearly increment in foreign banks (10% is quite normal) means most banking salaried workers' wage is up at least 100% from 2006.

Now in 2012, fortune starts to change, many european banks are retrenching, these people are back again, now with equipped with expertise gained in foreign setup, they are now holding titles like SVP. You will find a lot of these in back office technology.....

so moral of story, if you are stuck too long at one rank e.g. AVP, move on. You can rebrand yourself and come back as SVP

Fellow colleague
 

Hi,

For those who have experience working in this bank, can kindly advise if

1) i get mid year increment in salary, will I still get another increment at year end? Common, rare or impossible?

2) Is it common for most folks to get mid year increments?

Thanks for any advice/inputs.