Post date: Nov 04, 2013 3:1:49 PM
Reuters Business Report - These may not be the best of times for the global financial industry - but you wouldn't know at Singapore's The Bank Bar.
For finance professionals working in the city's central business district, it's the place to kick back and relax - and by eight pm it's packed.
With the end of the year approaching, a lot of the chatter is likely to focus on bonuses - and owner Robert Walshis expecting more good times ahead.
THE BANK BAR, OWNER, ROBERT WALSH:
"We've seen a growth compared to year one to year two. Definitely they are spending a bit more. There is a bit more spending power around now, particularly with the locals."
And the Bank Bar is likely to see a lot more liquidity.
A recent study by recruitment firm eFinancialCareers shows the vast majority of bankers in Singapore and Hong Kong expect a bonus this year - and most believe it will be bigger than last year's.
They're a lot more optimistic than their counterparts in the UK and U.S.
With the Asia-Pacific region set to host the largest number of millionaires in the world, demand for private bankers is expected to jump 50 percent in the next two years.
Add to that mix talk of bonus caps in the West and lower taxes, and Asia looks like the place bankers want to be.
EFINANCIALCAREERS, HEAD OF MARKETING (APAC), NEIL CLARK:
"Nearly 60 percent of people did feel that the increased regulation in the U.S. and Europe would lead to more finance professionals moving to the region."
REUTERS REPORTER, GAUTAM SRINIVASAN:
"With Hong Kong serving as the financial gateway to a rising China, and Singapore on track to unseat Switzerlandas the top manager for global wealth, expect more global bankers to look East."