If you thought that recruitment for risk and compliance jobs in Asia might be slowing down in November as banks focus instead on plotting next year’s hiring campaigns, think again.
As we reported yesterday, HSBC’s Q3 results reveal that the bank expects to boost its risk and compliance ranks to 7,000 people globally by the end of this year – nearly 10% of its entire headcount. Results from another Asia-focused bank, Standard Chartered, also reveal a surge in regulatory recruitment this year.
Recruiters in Asia confirm that some of this new hiring is focused on Hong Kong and Singapore. And because HSBC and Stan Chart are two of the largest banking-sector employers in these cities, their vacancies are helping to prop up the year-end job market.
While compliance and risk candidates looking for a guaranteed bonus for moving firms in Q4 are probably out of luck (click here to find out why), a large uptick in base salary is well within their reach. The job also comes with more internal kudos these days. “Compliance in Asia is a far more attractive career than it was just five years ago,” says Matthew Fellows a consultant at Pure Search in Hong Kong. “Banks are increasingly being inundated with new regulatory challenges, so the attitude internally towards compliance officers has also changed.”
Meanwhile:
HSBC says it has gone through “tougher times” in its 150 years in Hong Kong than the current pro-democracy protests. (WSJ)
Futures traders in Hong Kong can now stay at work for longer. (South China Morning post)
Jutting case grips Hong Kong because murders are so rare in the city. (South China Morning Post)
Now you can get a yuan trading job in…Sydney. (Business Times)
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to open representative office in Singapore. (Gulf Daily News)
UOB won’t comment on potential purchase of Vietnamese bank. (Straits Times)
Income boost for Australian banks but regulatory fears remain. (WSJ)
Why Chinese shadow banking continues to boom. (South China Morning Post)
Australia was offered top role in China’s infrastructure bank (Australian Financial Review)