Interviewer view · keep this screen to yourself

Standard: Kallang Private Bank: wealth revenue fell while assets grew

You run the case. Read the prompt, answer questions from the notes below, and share data only when the candidate asks for it or gets stuck. Score at the end.

Case timer

00:00

Target length:

1. Read the prompt aloud

Read it slowly, then pause. Let the candidate ask questions before they structure.

Kallang Private Bank's wealth-management unit in Singapore saw profit fall from SGD 160 million to SGD 110 million even though client assets grew. The exhibit shows the main figures. What happened, and what should the bank do?

Format note: Difficulty: Standard. Format: interviewer-led, with an exhibit. Industry: Banking. Region: Singapore. Interview length: about 30 minutes. The company is fictional and all figures are illustrative.

2. Answers to clarifying questions

Give these answers only if the candidate asks. If they ask something not listed, give a sensible answer or say it does not matter here.

If asked: How is revenue earned?
Answer: Fees charged as a percentage of client assets.
If asked: Did clients leave?
Answer: No, assets grew 5 percent.
If asked: Did anything change in what clients hold?
Answer: Yes, many moved money from managed portfolios into low-cost funds.

3. The hypothesis a strong candidate states

Listen for an early, testable guess like this one. It does not need to match word for word.

Assets grew but revenue fell, so my hypothesis is that the average fee rate fell because clients moved into cheaper products.

4. A model structure

Compare the candidate's structure with this one. A different split can be just as good if it is clean and fits the problem.

Revenue = client assets x average fee rate
- Client assets
- Key: Average fee rate
- Costs

Exhibit 1

Reveal to candidate: when they ask for this data, say "Open Exhibit 1" (they press "Show exhibit 1" on their screen).

Wealth-management unit, last year and this year (illustrative)

Wealth-management unit, last year and this year (illustrative)
Measure	Last year	This year
Client assets (SGD billion)	40	42
Average fee rate (%)	0.9	0.75
Costs (SGD million)	200	205

So-what

Assets grew, but the average fee rate fell by 0.15 points, which outweighed the growth.

5. The working, step by step

Each step shows how a strong candidate works it out. Share a new fact from it only when the candidate asks or is stuck, and let them do the math: the result in the dark box is what they should reach.

Step 1: Revenue last year
What a strong candidate does: SGD 40,000 million of assets at 0.9 percent.
Revenue last year (SGD million): 40,000 × 0.009 = 360
Step 2: Revenue this year
What a strong candidate does: SGD 42,000 million at 0.75 percent.
Revenue this year (SGD million): 42,000 × 0.0075 = 315
Step 3: Profit this year
What a strong candidate does: Minus costs of SGD 205 million.
Profit this year (SGD million): 42,000 × 0.0075 - 205 = 110
Step 4: Asset growth effect
What a strong candidate does: Extra assets at last year's fee rate.
Asset effect (SGD million): (42,000 - 40,000) × 0.009 = 18
Step 5: Fee rate effect
What a strong candidate does: This year's assets times the change in fee rate.
Fee rate effect (SGD million): 42,000 × (0.0075 - 0.009) = -63
Step 6: Curveball: where did the fee rate go?
What a strong candidate does: Interviewer: "About SGD 7 billion moved from managed portfolios charging 1.2 percent into low-cost funds charging 0.3 percent." Revenue lost from that move:
Revenue lost from the shift (SGD million): 7,000 × (0.012 - 0.003) = 63

The recommendation to listen for

At the end, say: "The CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?"

Profit fell because clients moved into cheaper products, not because they left. First, the lower fee rate cost SGD 63 million, far more than the SGD 18 million gained from asset growth. Second, the whole fee-rate drop is explained by about SGD 7 billion moving from managed portfolios into low-cost funds. Third, costs rose slightly, making the fall worse. Kallang Private Bank should offer advice worth paying for, such as advisory packages for larger clients, serve smaller clients through low-cost digital advice to protect margins, and review whether relationship managers are paid in a way that encourages the shift.

Risks a strong answer names: Clients may keep choosing low-cost funds whatever the bank offers; Rivals may compete hard on fees.

Next steps: Segment clients by size and product use; Design an advisory package and test it with 200 clients.

Strong versus weak

A strong answer

Split revenue into assets and fee rate, sized both effects, and used the curveball to explain the fee rate drop.

A weak answer

Said "assets grew, so the business is healthy" and blamed costs, which barely moved.

Score the candidate

Score each criterion from 1 to 5. A 2 or a 4 sits between the descriptions.

Structuring

1: No clear structure, or a memorized framework that does not fit the problem.
3: A sensible structure, but with some overlap, a gap, or no clear priority.
5: A structure built for this problem, with no overlap and no gaps, a stated hypothesis, and a clear first step.

Math

1: Frequent errors, no units, or needed heavy help to finish.
3: Right answers but slow or messy working, or one error caught late.
5: Accurate and clearly narrated, with units, a sense check, and what the number means.

Exhibit reading

1: Read the chart aloud without finding the number that matters.
3: Found the key number but gave only part of the so-what.
5: Pulled the right number quickly and said what it means for the case.

Synthesis

1: Summarized what was done, with no clear answer.
3: Gave an answer, but with weak reasons or no next step.
5: Answer first, then two or three reasons with numbers, the main risk, and next steps.

Communication

1: Hard to follow: long silences, no signposting.
3: Clear most of the time, with some rambling.
5: Calm and concise, signposted each step, and checked in with the interviewer.

Total

0 out of 25

Score all five criteria to see the band and the feedback template.