Compliance is among the most sought-after functions at banks in Singapore and Hong Kong right now. But compliance professionals typically don’t do enough to tailor their careers to take full advantage of the surge in demand for their services.
If you’re looking for a new compliance job in Asia or looking to clinch a promotion at your current company, here are some of the career trends that you need to know about.
1) Upskill internally
Training and development programmes are no longer the preserve of graduate trainees and front-office high-flyers. Banks in Asia desperately want to retain their compliance talent rather than engage in costly recruitment, so even if you’re mid-career in the middle-office, don’t hold back on your requests for more training. “More professionals in compliance in Asia are setting their future careers apart by increasing their regulatory and financial knowledge outside their current job description,” says Kate Reid, an associate director at recruiters Eximius Group in Hong Kong. “Some even take this to an academic level, like undertaking the daunting and expensive CFA.” The ACAMS and CFE qualifications are popular in Asia, too.
2) And also network internally
Building up your technical knowledge isn’t enough, however. “Compliance isn’t just about regulations anymore; it’s about your ability to influence stakeholders in the business. Interviewers, both internal and external, are looking for the ability to forge deepened relationships within the business. The greater your relationships, the more valuable you will be, even when Asian markets become less buoyant,” says Reid. “Use professional networks and mentoring programmes within your bank to create relationships and negotiate with your manager to gain exposure to projects outside your day-to-day-responsibilities, where the project group spans a wider internal network.”
3) Sell your soft skills
As we noted last week, soft skills are becoming more important to careers outside the front office in Asian banking – compliance is no exception. If you’re applying to a new employer, do all you can to highlight your communication skills on your CV and pepper your job-interview answers with references to how you’ve successfully influenced other departments at your bank. “More face-time is required between compliance and the business these days, hence banks want candidates with stronger communication and stakeholder-management skills,” says Orelia Chan, manager, financial services and compliance, at recruiters Robert Walters in Singapore.
4) Don’t be afraid to specialise
If you can do all of the following you will no doubt already be on the fast-tack to promotion, says Pathay Singh, managing director of recruiters The Compliance Grid in Hong Kong: interpret new regulations; codify these into policy; implement policy into changes in bank processes; prepare for annual regulatory inspections; and “face-off” to the regulator when the inspection is complete. But such is the talent shortage in Asian compliance that banks are becoming increasingly open to employing specialists. “It’s becoming more rare to find all the above skills in one person, so now there’s a new trend of building regulatory compliance teams who can each cover off parts of the process,” says Singh.
5) Try private banking
The compliance function is also becoming more specialised on a business-level, says Chan. While corporate banking and investment banking compliance specialists remain in demand, the largest percentage increase in new staff in Asia is within the burgeoning private banking sector. “US and European private banks are shifting their focus to Asian markets at the same time as regulators here are beefing up controls to comply with international standards,” Winnie Leung, an associate director at Pure Search in Hong Kong, told us previously.
6) Seek refuge as a revenue generator
We’re already highlighted how banks in Asia are recruiting externally from the likes of regulators, law firms, the Big Four and even commercial crime units of police forces. Next year, recruiters predict an increase in washed-out front-office staff moving within their current firms to plug talent gaps in compliance. “As the number of compliance professionals within banks in Asia shows no slowing in growth, the whole profession is getting a positive makeover and is becoming an option that more revenue generators will consider,” says Singh.
7) Change companies for more cash (while you can)
Internal moves may be the way to go if you’re moving from the front-office. But if you’re already in compliance and money is your main objective, a change of company will almost certainly bring a substantial boost to your pay. “To recruit strong candidates, hiring managers need to pay a premium to attract them. A good compliance candidate in Singapore will get an average increment of 20% to 30% on their current base salary,” explains Chan from Robert Walters. “But such salary rises are not sustainable in the long-run.”
8) Don’t fear offshoring
Junior back-office processing jobs may be haemorrhaging out of Hong Kong and Singapore into emerging Asian markets, but the increasing need for compliance professionals to interact with the business means their roles are largely staying onshore.