The global pandemic is causing widespread economic distress for businesses and consumers. While government relief measures have helped ease the financial strain of businesses, the banking industry in Hong Kong SAR is facing rising asset risks and deteriorating credit conditions.
As a regional financial services hub, the banking and financial services sector is expected to see a healthy, albeit slow recovery in 2021 as investments continue to flow between markets within the Asia Pacific region. Hiring in the front office will resume first, followed by middle and back office operations to support business demands and growth. However, the speed of recovery would still largely depend on how other countries manage their local COVID-19 situation and global access to a viable vaccine.
We expect to see rising hiring demand in wealth management (asset allocation) and corporate banking (debt restructuring). With companies from mainland China rolling out more aggressive expansion plans into Hong Kong SAR, we may see heightened demand for banking professionals to manage Chinese-related investments. The two key skills that most companies look for in candidates in 2021 are projection & forecast as well as debt restructuring.
labour and salary trends in 2021 for banking & financial services professionals
Following a challenging year, banking candidates with highly sought-after skills and experience will still be able to negotiate for a higher salary when switching employers in 2021. However, the salary increment will not be as high as what the market saw between 2016 and 2019, when the economy was performing much better. Banking & financial services professionals looking to change employers in 2021 can expect a 10% to 15% increment in their salary.
download the digital copy of the hong kong SAR 2021 market outlook and salary snapshot
key highlights in the banking & financial services industry outlook in 2021
- how job responsibilities and required skills have evolved to keep up with the digital transformation
- anticipated job mobility of professionals across different levels of seniority and industries.
- salary snapshots for more than 70 different job roles within banking & financial services
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read more on 2021 talent trends in Hong Kong in other industries:
- compliance & risk management
- insurance
- legal
- accounting & finance
- human resources & business support
- sales & marketing
- information technology
- life sciences
- property
- sourcing & supply chain
- contracting
If finding exceptional talent for your business is a key challenge or if you want to take your workforce ready for the future of work, please get in touch with us. You can also check our key areas of expertise in banking and financial services.