Morning Coffee: Ask for a big pay rise if Wells Fargo wants to hire you in Asia

If you want a job in corporate banking or compliance in Asia you have yet another option: Wells Fargo. Just be sure to press for a large pay rise if you do get a job offer there.

The US bank is expanding its 1,400-person wholesale banking team in Asia, adding some 140 new staff in the region over the next year, mainly in corporate banking and compliance, John Rindlaub, the bank’s regional president for Asia Pacific, told Bloomberg.

Wells Fargo is recruiting in two of the most buoyant and talent-short parts of Asian financial services. It will need to open its wallet if it wants to meet its headcount targets – compliance professionals and relationship managers (RMs) in corporate banking can typically command salary rises of about 20% when changing companies, according to recruiters.

Wells Fargo may even have to fork out more than 20% to lure talent in Asia because it is a far smaller player in corporate banking in the region than rival global corporate banks such as Citi, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Candidates with plenty of employment options may not naturally move to a firm who makes only 3% of its profits outside the US.

The firm also appears to want RMs who are comfortable working cross-border, which further reduces the potential talent pool, putting more upward pressure on salaries. Wells Fargo wants to service US clients in Asia and Asian multinational companies looking to expand their operations in the US, reports Bloomberg.

Meanwhile:

Jupiter Asset Management is staffing up in Singapore and Hong Kong. (Asian Investor)

Societe Generale overhauls derivatives management in Asia. (Business Times)

It’s tough being an investment banking in Singapore right now as deals dry up. (Bloomberg)

China contemplates allowing foreign banks a greater market share. (Bloomberg)

Veteran Indian banker KV Kamath named first BRICS bank head. (Reuters)

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