Hong Kong retail and private banks on the lookout for local front-line talent

The banking recruitment market will be active.

Hong Kong’s banking recruitment market will be active this quarter, with employers indicating they have positive hiring intentions.

According to a release from Hays, in its latest Hays Quarterly Report of skills in demand for April to June, the recruiter highlights that Relationship Managers, AML/KYC Compliance Managers and Investment Bank Credit Risk Analysts are all highly sought after.

“The increasing number of wealthy residents in Hong Kong has fuelled urgency and competition between retail and private banks to recruit the best front-line talent to their team,” says Dean Stallard, Regional Director of Hays in Hong Kong.

“Even foreign banks, which have traditionally not been involved in wealth management, have started to implement and build these departments in addition to their more traditional lines of business, such as corporate and commercial banking.”

However, when they recruit employers remain stringent in their hiring requirements and prefer local experience, especially for front-line roles, says the recruiter.

Here's more from Hays:

“Some of the larger banks, which have volume recruitment requirements, will now consider candidates from China. Even in these cases though, suitable candidates have usually had some Hong Kong experience in the past. Most banks in contrast still prefer to look for local talent,” said Stallard.

In terms of skills in demand, Relationship Managers in corporate, private and retail banking are particularly sought. “These are frontline revenue generating roles and banks in Hong Kong are more competitive than ever to capture new clients and increase their market share,” added Stallard.

“We are also seeing high demand for anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Client (KYC) Compliance Managers as banks in Asia are being more stringent than ever due to tighter regulations.

“Investment Bank Credit Risk Analysts are also needed in corporate and financial banking. In most demand are Mandarin-speaking candidates since more and more business now comes from China and Taiwan.

Previously, investment banking Credit Risk Analysts working in Hong Kong tended to be expatriates or foreign educated professionals with limited Chinese language capabilities. As these candidates have slowly exited or been pushed out of the market, it has created a huge gap and high demand for experienced candidates with versatile language skills.”

According to the recruiter, other skills in demand include Trade Support (Analyst, AVP, VP) and Settlement Managers in operations, and Front Office Investment Banking Analysts.

“Candidates with a relatively stable profile are valued,” said Stallard. “After Hong Kong recovered from the global financial crisis, there was a lot of movement and candidates changed employers – often several times. As a result, employers now value candidates with demonstrated loyalty in the past.”