The private banking arm of RBS (RBS.L) has hired 150 people in the past year in Asia following a massive exodus in Singapore, it said on Monday, as rivals poach from one another in the region to keep up with a surge in investible income.

Investor sentiment, however, remains weak, with 10 to 20% shift of total assets under management to cash and equivalent deposits, Nick Pollard, RBS Coutts’ Asia chief executive said at the Reuters Private Banking Summit.

 

“We ’re all going to have to start looking at different directions soon,” Pollard said. “Just looking at the same pool of bankers is probably not going to fill all the seats, so we’re looking at people from corporate finance and other parts of the industry.”

 

Over a quarter of its total staff strength in Singapore, or about 70 people, resigned to join rival BSI (GASI.MI) in October last year, hitting Pollard with the challenge of convincing clients to keep their money with RBS Coutts.

 

Asia has become the battleground for private banks as global and local players expand to gain a bigger market share in a region that is outpacing growth in the United States and Europe.