The 70 RBS Coutts employees in Singapore who grabbed international headlines today by quitting the firm en mass are all joining the local office of Swiss private bank BSI. And many of the defectors are said to have clinched guaranteed three-year employment packages.

It was announced last week that Hanspeter Brunner, former co-chief executive of RBS Coutts, had joined BSI to build up its comparatively small Asian operations. Now a large chuck of his former crew are joining him, with most starting their roles this week or next week, according to three banking industry sources.

“It’s one of the biggest single movements from one firm to another in the history of private banking in Singapore. Even during the boom times, we didn’t see anything on this scale,” says one headhunter who asked not to be named.

BSI’s new team, which significantly expands the bank’s Singaporean headcount, consists of about 20 relationship managers and 50 support staff, including private banking assistants.

The resignations are believed to be linked to disgruntlement over RBS Coutts deferring bonuses for this year, rather than paying lump sums.

“I understand that most of them got significant carrots to entice them to join BSI, not just in terms of pay and guaranteed bonuses but also three-years’ of guaranteed employment. It’s very rare to get such an offer,” says the anonymous recruiter.

Although RBS Coutts has lost about a third of its Singapore staff, the departures only make up about 14 per cent of the private bank's 510-strong pan-Asian headcount.

Parent company RBS, which is currently recruiting for its operations, IT and capital markets teams in Singapore and Hong Kong, now has to hire in private banking too. The good news, as reported yesterday on eFinancialCareers, is that private bankers are becoming more open to job hopping as markets improve.

But only time will tell whether these highly publicised walk-outs will further damage the RBS employer brand, which is already burdened by the stigma of UK government ownership.

BSI, which is owned by Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali, has not yet made an official comment about its new recruits.