Leading banks have programmes which give employees the chance to work in overseas branches and develop their careers
Banks with a global network are seeking to leverage their presence in other parts of the world, and one aspect of this strategy is to send their employees on international assignments.
While overseas postings at many banks in Hong Kong remain nascent, two of the largest global lenders, Citibank and HSBC, have schemes that allow employees to experience working in other countries.
To quote an example, Laine Santana hails from the Philippines and has worked for HSBC for 13 years.
She is on a two-year secondment at the Hong Kong headquarters where she works as senior group communications manager.
'In Manila, I used to head the communications team,' she said, adding that it was a team which she created eight years ago. Here she focuses on news management, co-ordinating with the personal finance department and media, and co-ordinating news around the region.