Two consecutive years of disappointing bonuses – or, in some cases, none at all – will force banks in Asia to deliver exceptional compensation in 2022 or face more turnover, according to headhunting firm Selby Jennings.
About 45 percent of financial workers expect a pay increase next year, according to a recent survey by Selby Jennings, compared to just 7 percent last year.
Also in last year’s survey, more than half of the respondents said they received no bonus.
«There hasn’t been new expatriate talent. There hasn’t been huge graduate hiring programs. There hasn’t been that middle layer of associates, analysts and VPs coming through,» said Selby Jenning’s North Asia head Abimanu Jeyakumar in an «SCMP» report. «What we’ve seen are performers that are unhappy need to be compensated exceptionally well in 2022 in order for the banks to expect to keep them.”
Higher Pay Already
Thus far, banker expectations coupled with strong profits have already led to an increase in compensation packages for new hires from 20 percent of prior pay to 80 percent when placed by headhunter, Jeyakumar said.
«The banks cannot afford to lose revenue-producing members of their teams,» he added. «The market competition for talent is so high, that potentially every process that we’re working on is a bidding war for talent.»
Selby Jenning’s survey is based on interviews with 190 financial services professionals in the Asia Pacific region, primarily from Singapore and Hong Kong.
