Tag Archives: RMG

Soap’s Conniving Concubines Draw Offical Fire – RMG Senior Consultant on Global Times

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:43

A review of the rating charts for Chinese television series over the last couple of years shows what seems to be a magic formula: feature a scheming harem involved in a back-stabbing power struggle in ancient China.

Many series on this theme involve intricate plot lines in which concubines forge alliances and cliques that end up fighting each other in the hope of gaining favor with the emperor.

The soap operas appear to resonate in the hearts and minds of some viewers by reminding them of office politics. Some have even compiled their own interpretations of the shows, saying the stories set in ancient times allude to various social abuses that can also be found in the modern world.

The Legend of Zhen Huan, one of the latest hits, has been viewed more than 30 million times on a video website letv.com. On an online forum on baidu.com, fans have posted nearly 3,800 discussions and more than 44,000 comments have been written.

The finale of the show garnered 10 percent of the viewing public in Shanghai, ranking it top of the chart.

Critics note that viewers’ enthusiasm for such TV shows is rooted in China’s thousand-year culture of connections and relationship networking. Viewers love to pry apart and analyze what’s happening behind the scenes of the power conflicts.

Office politics

The success of the “palace-infighting” shows dates back to the 2004 series War and Beauty produced by Hong Kong’s TVB. The characters deceive, manipulate and betray each other to get what they want. Their ruthlessness was seen as a metaphor for today’s office politics.

Over the past year there has been an explosion of such shows, including The Palace, The Emperor’s Harem and Curse of the Royal Harem. The most popular is the The Legend of Zhen Huan.

Adapted from a novel, the show revolves around Zhen Huan, a newcomer to the emperor’s harem. An innocent and pure girl at the beginning of the series, Zhen finds herself caught up in fierce infighting among the concubines.

Using her wits and sometimes unscrupulous methods, Zhen fights her way into the emperor’s heart, eventually becoming the empress.

Fans see the show as a metaphor for “survival in today’s professional world.” They see Zhen as a white-collar professional dressed in an ancient outfit.

One review posted online compared the emperor to a typical workplace boss, and the concubines to employees who are willing to try any means to win their boss’ favor.

“Everyone can find an example of their own experiences in the show. Some characters may be sitting in the office next door,” said Zhang Nan, an office worker.

Zheng Xiaolong, the TV series’ director, likened the heroine’s story to a college graduate who finally becomes CEO of a company.

Li Yin, a senior consultant with the headhunting consultancy RMG Selection, told the Global Times that just like today’s professional world, concubines in ancient times were also ranked, and could be promoted and demoted.

“The show tells us about rules in the professional world. For instance, one shouldn’t become arrogant once he or she finds favor in a company; otherwise, it will affect their performance and cause their career to nosedive,” Li noted. “This is particularly important in some State-owned enterprises, where there is a sense of hierarchy based on the country’s long feudal history.”

“The show also tells us that “fence sitters” won’t win the heart of any party in a company, including the boss,” Li said.

Not without criticisms

Despite its high ratings, The Legend of Zhen Huan has also stirred controversies.

Some argued that the metaphor for office politics is simplified demonizing of the professional world.

Wei Min, a human resources specialist with a foreign-owned enterprise, told the Global Times that she regards The Legend of Zhen Huan as a favorite pastime, and does not over-interpret its relevance to today’s professional world.

“There are some tips you should remember, but scheming and power struggles are not that prevalent in an office as some viewers suggested,” Wei said.

“If you follow the fans, you will start to assume your colleagues are rivals and waste your energy on infighting,” said Li.

Meanwhile, an opinion piece in the People’s Daily lambasted the TV series featuring palace infighting, calling for an end to such shows.

It criticized the programs for promoting the rule of the jungle and back-stabbing that magnify the evil side of human nature. It fears the dramas will twist young people’s perception of social relationships.

A portrayal of real world

The New Weekly magazine suggested the palace infighting dramas portray some social problems that plague today’s real world.

The concubines in the shows are often backed by wealthy and influential families, which many people believe is pretty much a necessity to get ahead in the world today. The New Weekly compared the imperial harem to a miniature social network.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, said that China’s youth over-estimate the complexity of the real world and are taking the dramas as their bible.

“When young people leave school and go out into the professional world, they are unsophisticated, like a blank piece of paper. They might sometimes imagine the worst of society, and such dramas cater to them,” he said, adding that such shows won’t necessarily cause a negative impact on the society.

Read the article: http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/710437/Soaps-conniving-concubines-draw-offical-fire.aspx

Read the magazine:  https://www.rmgselection.com/images/rmg%20news_gt_may_cl_1.jpg

'Naked resignations' reveal workplace frustrations – RMG Marketing Manager on China Daily

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:35

One of the hot phrases during the rounds recently in China is “naked resignation” – which means quitting a job without lining up another.

It is well known that Chinese people are the model of hard work and diligence, and “naked resignation” would have been beyond imagination 10 years ago when I first came to China.

According to a recent survey covering 8,064 respondents by Global Times and Sohu.com, more than 43 percent had done, or were considering, “naked resignation”. Among them, more than half explained that the main reason was the lack of satisfaction and happiness at work. Nowadays, an increasing number of Chinese youth are pursuing a balance between work and life and personal happiness. My company, RMG Selection, is a China-focused specialist HR and recruitment consultancy. Our consultants contact thousands of job-hunters or outstanding candidates and one of them told me a very interesting story about a candidate, Ma.

Ma was a typical rising star: a graduate from a prestigious university, he worked at a famous audit firm for more than three years and had just been promoted as supervisor. This was the optimum opportunity to look for a new job. However, right after the Chinese New Year, which is regarded as the best time for job-hopping, Ma decided to resign, and told our consultant not to offer him new positions for the moment.

Why did Ma do so? Because he feels that he had lost himself: in the past three years, Ma had to regularly work overtime and go on business trips frequently, and he found that he had no time to take care of his family, be in a relationship and to continue his hobbies. Therefore, when the boss asked him to go on a business trip after the Spring Festival, Ma just spent three minutes to write a resignation letter and leave the company.

It’s really hard to imagine such a situation happening to my friends in London, who find it quite difficult to make ends meet given the high cost of living. This is quite different from Chinese people according to my personal experiences. Chinese people prefer saving, a legacy of the economic hardships during the earlier stages of New China. Although China’s economy is booming and many first-tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, offer expensive temptations similar to be found in New York, the habit of saving has been retained, especially among those who have children. Most of them have acquired assets to deal with various crises. Therefore, even though they have no income for a period of time, they don’t have to worry too much.

In addition, family plays an important part in Chinese culture. Even if their children have already graduated from universities and got a job, parents still offer them a lot of support, such as sharing a house or financial assistance for a downpayment. Of course, children support their parents when they are in a good financial situation. This phenomenon is very common in China, just as children have to be economically independent after graduation in the West. This solid family backing is another reason why Chinese youth dare to resign abruptly.

Apart from material changes, another important factor leading to “naked resignation” lies in the mentality of Chinese youth, especially the post-80s generation. They focus more on career happiness and achievement and pursue a balance between work and life, which is quite different from the older generation. At the end of last year, Qianjiang Evening News conducted a survey aimed at investigating the reasons of “naked resignation”. In this survey, 48 percent of the respondents preferred to stay at home due to the heavy workload and poor salary, while 27 percent considered their current jobs valueless and meaningless, so they would like to resign and study more.

Personally speaking, I do think this is a good phenomenon, for a mature and advanced job market should attach great importance to workers’ happiness. Nevertheless, there are always other solutions, such as communication, and usually it can solve as much as 90 percent of the problems. We cannot always stay at home without working. Most importantly, we must never be impetuous.

Some young people hope to get a perfect job after “naked resignation”. But I have to say there is no “perfect job” in the world. If you can really find such a job, please do let me know!

Read the whole article: http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2012-05/11/content_15269632.htm

‘Naked resignations’ reveal workplace frustrations – RMG Marketing Manager on China Daily

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:35

One of the hot phrases during the rounds recently in China is “naked resignation” – which means quitting a job without lining up another.

It is well known that Chinese people are the model of hard work and diligence, and “naked resignation” would have been beyond imagination 10 years ago when I first came to China.

According to a recent survey covering 8,064 respondents by Global Times and Sohu.com, more than 43 percent had done, or were considering, “naked resignation”. Among them, more than half explained that the main reason was the lack of satisfaction and happiness at work. Nowadays, an increasing number of Chinese youth are pursuing a balance between work and life and personal happiness. My company, RMG Selection, is a China-focused specialist HR and recruitment consultancy. Our consultants contact thousands of job-hunters or outstanding candidates and one of them told me a very interesting story about a candidate, Ma.

Ma was a typical rising star: a graduate from a prestigious university, he worked at a famous audit firm for more than three years and had just been promoted as supervisor. This was the optimum opportunity to look for a new job. However, right after the Chinese New Year, which is regarded as the best time for job-hopping, Ma decided to resign, and told our consultant not to offer him new positions for the moment.

Why did Ma do so? Because he feels that he had lost himself: in the past three years, Ma had to regularly work overtime and go on business trips frequently, and he found that he had no time to take care of his family, be in a relationship and to continue his hobbies. Therefore, when the boss asked him to go on a business trip after the Spring Festival, Ma just spent three minutes to write a resignation letter and leave the company.

It’s really hard to imagine such a situation happening to my friends in London, who find it quite difficult to make ends meet given the high cost of living. This is quite different from Chinese people according to my personal experiences. Chinese people prefer saving, a legacy of the economic hardships during the earlier stages of New China. Although China’s economy is booming and many first-tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, offer expensive temptations similar to be found in New York, the habit of saving has been retained, especially among those who have children. Most of them have acquired assets to deal with various crises. Therefore, even though they have no income for a period of time, they don’t have to worry too much.

In addition, family plays an important part in Chinese culture. Even if their children have already graduated from universities and got a job, parents still offer them a lot of support, such as sharing a house or financial assistance for a downpayment. Of course, children support their parents when they are in a good financial situation. This phenomenon is very common in China, just as children have to be economically independent after graduation in the West. This solid family backing is another reason why Chinese youth dare to resign abruptly.

Apart from material changes, another important factor leading to “naked resignation” lies in the mentality of Chinese youth, especially the post-80s generation. They focus more on career happiness and achievement and pursue a balance between work and life, which is quite different from the older generation. At the end of last year, Qianjiang Evening News conducted a survey aimed at investigating the reasons of “naked resignation”. In this survey, 48 percent of the respondents preferred to stay at home due to the heavy workload and poor salary, while 27 percent considered their current jobs valueless and meaningless, so they would like to resign and study more.

Personally speaking, I do think this is a good phenomenon, for a mature and advanced job market should attach great importance to workers’ happiness. Nevertheless, there are always other solutions, such as communication, and usually it can solve as much as 90 percent of the problems. We cannot always stay at home without working. Most importantly, we must never be impetuous.

Some young people hope to get a perfect job after “naked resignation”. But I have to say there is no “perfect job” in the world. If you can really find such a job, please do let me know!

Read the whole article: http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2012-05/11/content_15269632.htm

Great Loss of Financial Products in Foreign Banks – RMG Partner on 21CBH

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:27

余值“蒸发”谁之过？外资银行理财产品巨亏纠纷不断

一场六千多万元理财产品官司，耗时两年多、律师费1000余万，最终以银行赔偿客户5300万告终。然而，这仍仅仅是一个开始。

2011年7月21日，北京市第一中级人民法院终审判决，渣打银行（中国）有限公司北京中关村支行赔偿宋文洲5300万理财产品损失，并解除相关合同。根据宋文洲代理律师在法庭上的估算，如果审判日最近的赎回日赎回产品，余值约450万元。然而几个月后，宋文洲想动用资金时，却发现账户中并没有这笔钱。

“因为没有急着动这笔钱，所以一直没有过问。等到想用钱时，发现钱突然没有了。”宋文洲说。

宋文洲的代理律师毛博告诉记者，赔偿的钱是投资中的损失，并不包括理财产品剩余价值。“在庭审时法院曾询问双方，是选择赔偿损失，还是让银行赔偿全部本金同时保留剩余理财产品。当时我们的回答是都可以，而渣打银行表示，只能赔偿损失。”

4月19日，记者致电渣打银行宋文洲开户的中关村支行行长张永新，他表示根据公司规定，不能给予任何回应，其后记者向渣打公关部人士提交了问题，但只收到了一份颇为官方的回应，称“对所谓余值的主张，已超越了生效判决内容，于法无据 ”，对于记者询问的细节并未回复。

金融海啸以来渣打理财产品巨亏已经不是新鲜事，然而，此前的“苦主”们抱怨的大多因为银行高估其风险承受能力，没有完整揭示风险，宋文洲遭遇的则是银行拒绝其赎回指令，以及法庭宣判后理财产品余值“蒸发”的新问题。

账户余值之争

金融海啸后外资银行理财纠纷不断，“宋文洲案”只是其中的一例，但金额巨大。

2008年3月，宋文洲购买了两款“聚通天下”代客境外理财系列-股票挂钩可转换结构性投资理财产品，代号分别为QDSN08012E（CNY）和QDSN08017E（CNY）），均包括AB两个子计划。以QDSN08012E为例，A计划为美林1.5年期欧元银行股票挂钩可转换结构性票据，B为美林2年期欧元股票挂钩非保本结构性票据。两个产品结构类似，只是挂钩的股票略有不同。

根据产品说明书，如果A符合到期既定条件，将自动转为B，若未符合到期既定条件，随时可转换票据到期终止。子计划A的到期日为2009年9月21日，子计划B的生效日预计为2009年9月28日，到期日为2011年9月28日。

但与很多客户到期后发现产品巨亏不同，2008年5月，宋文洲已经向银行要求赎回，但渣打银行拒绝其请求。

渣打的理由是，产品说明书中的16.1条约定A计划不能提前赎回，提前赎回只针对B计划。但宋文洲出示了签约时的录音文件，渣打银行当时的客户经理曾表示“产品是可以提前赎回的”，该客户经理也提供了相关证词。

最终法庭认定，渣打银行的AB合同都应可以赎回，渣打银行拒绝宋在A计划期间赎回的请求，但在A计划转化到B计划后，宋可以提前赎回产品，却没有行使权利。所以判定渣打银行承担A计划期间宋文洲的损失，赔偿“应以宋文洲提出赎回的申请之日，至理财产品由A子计划转为B子计划，首次开放赎回日的损失为准。”

值得一提的是，在案件审理期间，随着时间的推移，理财产品A计划到期，并自动转至B计划，直到2011年9月28日B计划到期前，理财产品的余值仍然在变动中。但由于法庭认定的是所有A计划期间的产品损失，且银行提供了A计划转为B计划首次开放赎回日的产品市值，因此并不难计算。同时，法院也计算了庭审期间的最近一次赎回日的票据市值。

宋文洲和律师认为法庭的判决非常明确，银行赔偿的5300余万元是“投资额减去产品余值”计算出来的，即产品余值（450余万元）不包含在损失数额之内。“法院判决解除双方理财委托，该产品余值仍在我名下，归我所有，仍应由我随时行使，这是最基本的常识。”宋文洲称。

他告诉记者，在发现余值不见后曾致电法官，法官回复称，这是不用写在判决书中的基本常识，而且渣打银行的律师也曾在近期专门致电诉讼案件承办法官予以确认。不过记者并未获得法官电话，也未能与渣打的律师取得联系。渣打银行对于此事的一份声明中称“对所谓余值的主张，已超越了生效判决内容，于法无据。”“就合同和判决内容的相关争议，可通过司法途径解决。 ”

北京问天律师事务所合伙人张远忠律师认为，宋文洲和渣打银行签订的合同已经没有办法履行，需要解除，合同解除以后应当把剩余资产还给宋文洲。“合同解除要返还原物，没有办法返还的要赔偿。”双方的僵持仍然在进一步升级。在4月12日宋文洲给渣打银行去函后，4月17日渣打银行回复宋称：“对于您通过宋文英女士口头提出的索要QDIISN08017E（CNY）及QDIISN08012E（CNY）理财产品项下所谓余值的要求，我行已于3月27日通过电话口头明确答复宋文英女士，表示我行在该两款理财计划项下对您已不具有任何给付义务 ”。18日宋文洲再次致函渣打表示不能接受，并已将该事投诉至渣打总部，但尚未收到回复。

4月19日，渣打银行给记者的回复依然如前，但宋文洲称，渣打银行已经在寻找私了途径。

管理制度之乱

宋文洲表示，这件事让他不再相信外资银行，虽然以前认为他们是国际大银行，但发现国内和国外服务水准相差太多。在案件频发、客户不满背后折射出外资银行的管理掣肘。

宋文洲回忆称，当他签署理财产品协议时，中关村支行的支行行长和当初他开户时的支行行长已经不是同一个人，现在的支行行长又有更换。而现在的客户经理也早已不是当初邀请他开户的客户经理。

外资银行的跳槽频率普遍高于中资银行。负责银行业招聘的罗迈国际（RMG）商务咨询有限公司合伙人曹迪估计，外资银行人员的流动率大约在20%-30%，而询问100位中资银行的员工，仅有5-6个员工表示愿意移动。

“外资银行的跳槽率比中资银行高。而渣打银行的文化较为激进，主要看业绩，不管员工用什么样的目的来达到。”另一位银行业招聘顾问称，在这种文化下，招聘不论背景，员工的素质参差不齐，有的人磨合后留下，但离职的人也不少。

这种人员流动既包括上层领导也包括下层员工。“这种流动必然会对客户带来影响。”该招聘顾问向记者描述其中的逻辑：外资银行的理财产品中有很多高风险产品，如果客户没有好的收益会抱怨理财经理，理财经理不开心，有合适的机会就会离职。而下一任客户经理根本不了解客户和当时的情况，就会推脱，或者告诉客户本来就是高风险高收益产品。此时问题虽没有解决，但客户已经觉得精疲力竭了。

“这是所有外资银行的通病，因为中资银行的客户经理不会跳槽如此频繁。”她认为。

一位前渣打银行高管表示，“所以客户告银行的案件特别多。”

外资银行的另一个陷阱是，讲究法律和合规，所以强调客户经理无论客户是否理解，一定让客户签署对银行有利的条款，以避免出事后的责任。他认为，因为客户经理非常年轻，对产品理解不了很容易造成错误销售，如果客户走了，就将是损失一大资金，所以要不计一切代价稳住客户。

外资银行的客户经理压力大，进一步增加了服务水准较差的可能性。“如果6个月内做不出业绩，随时可能走人。所以你去外资银行理财，客户经理可能会先让你做一个五年期定存。”前述渣打银行高管说，客户经理想的都是怎么卖产品，很难为客户服务。

对于宋文洲的遭遇，该高管分析，销售误导和为了留住客户不让客户赎回都是非常可能的。

而纠纷频发对于外资银行这些年是否有所反省，前述渣打高管的感觉是“没有任何影响，就是店大欺客。中国地区不会反思，如果反省也应该是英国总部进行反省。”

Read the whole article: http://epaper.21cbh.com/html/2012-04/20/content_22392.htm?div=-1

Gray Shade of Offshore Customer Management in Standard Chartered Bank – RMG Partner on 21 CBH

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 03:18

渣打不是个案 外资银行“离岸客户”管理灰幕

当渣打银行对其私人银行员工吴伊甸涉嫌帮助农行支行长孙锋洗钱一事三缄其口，一位渣打内部人士向记者透露了一些关键要素，或可揭开偶然事件背后鲜为人知的必然逻辑。

据该人士透露，为拓展市场，渣打私人银行部曾在2011年间，进行了一系列大力拓展离岸私人银行客户的动作，其中不乏一些较为激进，甚至有违规嫌疑的行为。吴伊甸正是在此期间入职，而她的外籍身份也更便于为国内客户办理离岸业务。

在中国严格的金融监管体制下，以离岸业务见长的外资银行，在国内开展私人银行业务时，遇到了不少困惑。一些较为激进的外资银行大胆打“擦边球”的同时，也累积了风险。

不过，该人士称，如今渣打策略已经修改，不再向客户经理下达离岸客户指标，重新转向在岸业务。与此同时，中国区私人银行业务条线也已经整体降级，由直接向新加坡总部汇报改为向香港汇报，中国私人银行业务在渣打的总体业务中亦有逐渐边缘化的趋势，

记者就此事向渣打银行公关部人士求证，但截至发稿前，仍未收到回复。

“离岸客户”纳入考核

对于外资私人银行而言，外汇产品、全球化布局是其优势所在，但鲜为人知的是，一些银行背后还暗藏“输送客户”交易。

一位前外资银行私人银行部高管、后转投中国某股份制银行私人银行部人士透露，向国外介绍客户并不是一件新鲜事，早在他任职期间就存在，但根据每次负责人的不同，策略会有所变化。该人士从2008年开始任职外资私人银行部，并于2009年离开。

渣打的改变从2011年1月开始。一个不得不提的关键名字——魏元科（Ryan Gwee），2011年1月底被任命为渣打银行私人银行中国区总裁，彼时他已经在渣打私人银行任职超过10年，在新加坡和香港担任过多个管理职位，获任前担任渣打银行（香港）私人银行客户经理主管。

2011年1月之后，私人银行部的业务发展策略开始向移民和资产转移倾斜。一位前渣打员工称。推荐海外私人银行客户亦被纳入内地私人银行客户经理的考核指标，甚至包括“要在国外完成盈利和存款”指标。

渣打私人银行2011年3月14日的联合每日报告显示（下称“3.14报告”），每位客户经理的名字后面，除了“已经存在”和“2011年新增客户数”栏目外，额外增加了一栏“Throw”，细分为“Cases Thrown”和“Successful Cases”。

“之前没有Throw栏。”前渣打员工解释，“已经存在”和“2011年新增客户数”代表的是内地客户情况，“Throw”代表的是内地客户经理推荐到海外渣打私人银行客户的情况，其中“Cases Thrown”代表推荐的客户数，“Successful Cases”代表成功推荐的客户数。

3.14报告显示，不少客户经理已经有成功案例。东部区域一共推荐了6位海外客户，成功3位；南部区域一共推荐了5位客户，成功2位；北部区域一共推荐了13位，成功7位。从总体数量上看，海外客户已经占相当比例。

此外，当日报表还显示，从2011年1月1日到3月14日，中国区新增在岸客户25位，新增离岸客户13位，新增的海外客户数量几乎占内地新增客户的一半。其中，一位名为“Cindy Jiang”的客户经理的海外业绩居首，一共推荐了6位海外客户，成功4位，但其内地客户数量为零。

但前述转投某中资私人银行人士称，这不符合常理，基本上不会出现一名客户还不是在岸客户就已经成为离岸客户的情况，“一定要先在国内开户后，再推荐过去。”

但前渣打员工笃定地称，Cindy Jiang没有任何在岸客户管理经验，只做离岸客户。“2011年5月前，渣打每日报表都有离岸客户指标。但后来去掉了，改在私下统计。”

设立香港结算中心

王伟（化名）是当时渣打离岸私人银行客户中的一位。

在印有渣打私人银行抬头及某内地分行地址的纸张上，王伟申明“2011年1月，本人在**（某内地城市）渣打银行私人银行中心要求，渣打私人银行经理陈俊安协助开立香港渣打私人银行账户做投资用。特此证明。”落款为王伟签名及联系电话。

前述渣打私人银行人士称，王伟还不是内地私人银行客户，客户经理就直接对其进行海外私人银行业务的营销。当时，为了发展更多离岸私人银行客户，渣打银行为内地客户直接在内地开设离岸私人银行账户，尽管这与相关法律有所冲突。

“过去也有香港客户经理来内地拜访客户，但不能直接帮助客户开户或者办理业务。一方面，大陆规定不可以在内地的营业网点中做海外业务，另一方面，根据国外规定，需要有‘号码’（当地从业资格）的人才能开户。”

但这两者都有办法规避。前者可以在银行营业网点之外的场所办理，后者则要借助部分客户经理的特殊身份。

“获得‘号码’的两种方式，找在国外有资格开户的人，或者把国内的客户经理变成有资格的人，显然前者容易得多。”前述人士介绍。

同魏元科一起来到中国的，还有其两名下属——陈俊安（Sean Chen）和Vivian Tang，二者及魏本人均为新加坡籍，都拥有国外开户资格，陈即为王伟证明中提到的客户经理。

此类客户经理多为外籍人士，知情人士称，“因为在香港、新加坡等地开户不需要摄像，所以很容易进行暗箱操作。”

据该人士透露，为了推进这一策略，渣打中国区私人银行还在香港设立了结算中心，把中国内地推荐来的海外客户的需求放在同一个结算中心，产生的利润可以为境内的业绩评定加分。甚至对客户经理许诺“将来有一天客户积累多了，可以直接去国外做客户经理。”

一名在渣打私人银行成立初期即任职的人士称，简而言之，过去是通过“卖客户”获得提成，但并不正式，很多承诺不了了之，而结算中心的模式较正式，但其实“算也算不清楚”，后期做不下去。

但上述结算中心做法并未获得渣打官方确认。

中外资模式之辩

渣打私人银行的如上变局背后，是外资私人银行管理机制和发展模式的困境。

在香港、新加坡等地，私人银行主要服务于全球范围内的离岸资金，拥有税收方面的优惠政策和相对发达的资本市场，因此许多富人将财富交由设立在此的私人银行管理，私人银行甚至定位为“离岸私人银行”，为离岸人士“管钱”并满足他们巨额资金的投资需求。

“在香港和新加坡，外汇没有管制，客户经理可以背上其他区域的指标，而在中国这是违法的。”一位新加坡本地银行的私人银行人士称。

形成鲜明对比的是，渣打银行前中国区私人银行总监陈庆（魏元科的前任）在接受媒体采访时曾表示，要加强在岸私人银行业务的发展。陈1997年入职渣打后，一直在国内工作，直到2010年8月离职。。

陈庆认为，与私人银行传统的“离岸”财富管理不同，中国内地私人银行市场将是“在岸”市场。她说，在中国发展私人银行不能局限于财富管理模式，银行应该整合自身在企业银行等方面的传统优势，为客户提供全面的金融服务。

与陈庆共事过的一位渣打私人银行员工认为，当时渣打是所有外资银行在岸私人银行中最好的，拥有会所、专属会客区等良好的硬件设施，以及35岁以上、5年以上公司业务或个人业务从业经验的本地工作团队。

2011年下半年，魏元科离任，渣打新的私人银行部总裁低调上任。知情人士称，其英文名为Sherry，过去在渣打银行负责培训。

由于其至今尚未公开露面，外界难以得知如今渣打中国的策略，但据知情人士称，目前，渣打的私人银行业务已经回归常态，更加注重在岸业务的发展。

4月19日，一位知情人士透露，渣打中国区的私人银行业务已经整体降级，执行低成本路线——降低总体薪金；并由过去直接向总部汇报改为向渣打香港私人银行部汇报。此外，现在的薪酬由和内地、海外双挂钩改为只和内地挂钩，内地不再背负新加坡和香港的业绩压力。

不过，亦有观点认为，外资银行在国内很难开展在岸业务。一名外资银行私人银行人士认为，外资银行主要的优势是外币产品和离岸业务，在国内的主要客户基础是在华的香港人或其他外籍人士。与中资银行相比，无论产品的多样性（尤其是人民币理财）或是客户规模都不能相提并论。

一位猎头公司人士透露，很多在华外资私人银行的客户经理都非常少，即使在北京这样的城市也只有“个位数”。而记者了解到的一些中资银行，客户经理动辄超过百位，仅一个私人银行中心的客户经理就可多达几十位。

此外，客户数量上，外资银行也远不能和中资银行相提并论。

就个别客户经理而言，通常中资银行客户经理可有70至100位客户，为了保证服务质量还要将客户转给其他客户经理，而外资银行客户经理常常在寻找客户的窘境中，有的只有20或者30位左右客户。

总量上，多家中资私人银行客户数量过万，例如2011年末中国银行私人银行客户约为2.4万人，而股份制银行也都为“千”级。但一些外资银行只有“百”级别。

人事更迭频繁

外资银行中高管“空降”的案例并不少见，一个常见的问题是“不了解中国的法律”，且通常会引发一系列的人事变化。

据前渣打员工介绍，2011年上半年，魏元科、陈俊安和Vivian Tang，分别担任上海、北京、深圳三地私人银行主管的同时，原有高管或离职、或调任其他部门，原有客户经理也大量离职。管理上，魏元科直接向位于新加坡的东半球私人银行区域主管汇报，并实质上拥有业务范围内的人事权，并不与渣打中国发生过多关系。

一位与魏元科相识人士回忆，“魏元科做了很多年财富管理，是一个非常好的客户经理。但是他对中国市场不太熟悉。”

实际上，外资私人银行人事一向更迭频繁。根据不完全统计，自2007年渣打银行成立至今已更换4任中国区负责人，分别是周幼兰、陈庆、魏元科和Sherry，区域的动荡更多。“北京区域在3年半中更换了5任负责人，其中一位担任了1年半。其余每位平均不到半年。”一位知情人士称。

罗迈国际（RMG）商务咨询有限公司合伙人曹迪表示，外资私人银行人员的平均流动率在30%左右，而中资私人银行不到10%，因为一些外资私人银行的文化“较为激进”。

表现为，考核上定下诸多指标，完成留下，完不成离开。另一位一家国际猎头公司银行业招聘专员认为，这种业绩压力以及经营策略的不稳定会造成人员的流失，此外重用外国人也是很多外资行的通病。

一名外资私人银行高管认为，外派的一些人开始就会想好“只是在中国几年”，会有一些短视的做法，而且合适的人员很难找，“外资私人银行的模式不适合中国，外来的人很难融入这个市场，但本土的人员又不适应外资银行的文化。”

曹迪说，近年来一些外资银行开始注重本地化，不少高管为本土人士升迁，比例可以达到50%左右。

记者注意到，现任渣打私人银行北京区域总监汪海燕曾是该行的内地客户经理，中国区负责人也为内地员工升迁。或许，在经过数年摸索后，外资私人银行能够寻得在中国发展之路。

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