Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide 2016

Transcription

1 Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

2 Compliance Market Overview 2015 remained an exciting time to be working in the compliance sector as recruitment activity remained buoyant. Budgets continued to increase due to widespread regulatory pressure on the industry and the number of headcounts increased more than in other areas of corporate governance. The second half of the year was still very active despite less favourable general economic conditions such as falling shares prices, the sinking oil price, Chinese stock market concerns and the World Bank warning of stormy times ahead. Senior compliance professionals continued to be in high demand because they are being held more accountable and the roles are at higher risk. Most hiring managers reported that they had to recruit externally in the last 12 months to fill senior roles. For professionals, employment prospects are the best they have been for a while. We have seen the most number of promotions within the compliance sector to date. Base salary adjustments and bonus paid out remained very steady and relatively attractive compared with their colleagues in back to middle office roles. Clients have, however, remained selective. We found that candidates who have the ability to present themselves confidently, with strong communication skills, leadership skills and who are able to work with the business well, will find themselves breezing through the interview process. In terms of compensation, base salaries for compliance experts have broadly increased at about 12 to 18% across all sectors. Bonuses ranged from 3 to 6 months of annual salary. The question continues to be where will clients look for their compliance experts? As the sector continues to grow, professionals are recruited from outside of the discipline to fill the skills gap. It has become difficult to source stable candidates as most compliance practitioners have moved within the past 12 months. Most firms admitted that they are understaffed and they need to hire immediately by going through an efficient recruitment process. Counter offers are very common, as organisations contemplate the difficulties involved in finding replacements. This translates to vigorous competition between employers for those in the limited talent pool. Sector Analysis Investment Banking In the investment banking sector we have seen movement predominantly around replacement roles at manager and director level in product compliance, research, investment banking divisions, control room and trade surveillance. Roles relating to regulatory developments such as regulatory affairs, central compliance, regulatory compliance, regulatory conduct, and compliance projects are also in high demand due to the regulatory pressures from SFC and HKMA. Reputation remained an important consideration for professionals who sought to move. Banks with poor reputations failed to attract top available talents in the market despite their ability to offer attractive salaries. Private Banking Most banks view their wealth management and private banking sectors as their key focus for 2015 to They have recognised the need to expand and consolidate their compliance departments by continuing to increase head counts. As a result we saw the most hires in this sector to date. Competition for the best available professionals is fierce, and most employers looked to recruit candidates from retail, consumer or commercial banking in the hope that they can leverage off their experience with HKMA. Banks had the opportunity to attract quality candidates from other sectors, who are looking to make a move into private banking. Having said this, there was still a shortage of candidates. Most private banks need to understand they need to go outside of their usual salary bandings to hire the right candidates. Increments ranging from 25 to 35% on base salaries were not unusual in This has created musical chair effect where we have seen senior candidates move around within the sector. Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

3 Asset Management Movement within the asset management sector continued to be very active even though many candidates had already moved in Firms experienced greater movement with senior professionals, due to their initial stability which was attributed to natural job attrition. There was also speculation of the discretionary bonuses being between 3-6 months with average increments exceeding the norm of 3-6%. This leads to some difficulty in segregating junior and mid- level professionals for hiring purposes thereby shrinking the talent pool for candidates with this experience type and level. Boutique firms had the edge in retaining junior and midlevel candidates due to the well-rounded nature of the roles they offered. Firms that separate their investment and business compliance teams found it difficult to retain their staff, as compliance professionals sought different challenges or additional experience. Candidates fully utilised their bargaining power to gain the best compensation package when moving roles. Experts in niche areas of compliance expected at 20-25% increments when they made a move. AML / FCC As global regulators hit banks with billion-dollar fines, the battle against financial crime is creating cutting-edge jobs in Hong Kong. There has been a notable spotlight on financial crime compliance (FCC) and hiring has been made from the big banks, regulatory bodies and international consultancy firms. The majority of hiring was by Asia- focused British and European banks that are subject to regulatory fines and binding. Banks faced fines that ran into hundreds of millions of dollars that has spurred their compliance departments into undergoing major transformations. This hiring spree is set to continue, largely focused on Asia. Some large British banks in Hong Kong have made multiple senior appointments in order to strengthen their FCC function, while other banks that are under scrutiny by a global regulator also experienced a double digit increase in its financial-crime headcount, mostly in junior roles. Hiring Trend for 2016 From a candidate perspective, the compliance recruitment market for 2016 looks likely to remain attractive as it will continue to thrive. However, early indications of a market slow down mean that the internal salary adjustments and bonuses paid out do not look as promising compared with the previous two years. Most employers will look for internal candidates first before they reach out to external candidates. Companies are also working on graduate recruitment programmes to beef up their existing compliance teams while meeting costs. Candidates can add value to their existing compliance expertise by attending regular compliance seminars and keeping themselves well connected and up to date with the market. We also advise that candidates should be well prepared for tougher interviewing processes as clients become more selective. It is likely they will target candidates who have strong communication skills and can work well with business stakeholders. Overall, compliance practitioners do expect a significant increment in salary but the foreseeable market volatility suggests that percentages will be relatively less than Offers would range between 15-20% increments compared to 20-25% in Bonuses will be impacted and could fall from 3-6 month averages to 2-4 month averages. Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

4 Salary Scales Salary per annum Investment Banking Global Markets Compliance (FICC/Equities) IBD / Research Compliance Monitoring & Surveillance Control Room Compliance Registration & Licensing Regulatory Affairs AML Advisory AML Transaction Monitoring Compliance Monitoring/ Testing 360K to 480K 500K to 800K 420K to 720K 420K to 720K 420K to 720K 420K to 700K 1.2M to 1.8M 1M to 1.6M 1M to 1.4M 1.2M to 1.8M 1M to 1.8M 2M to 2.5M 2.2M to 2.5M 1.6M to 2.0M 2M to 2.5M 1.5M to 1.8M 1.8M to 2.5M 2.2M to 2.8M 1.6M to 1.8M 1.5M to 2.0M Retail & Corporate Banking Regulatory Compliance AML Compliance Compliance Monitoring & Testing 360K to 540K 420K to 540K 540K to 720K 540K to 840K 420K to 700K 800K to 1.3M 800K to 1.2M 1.5M to 2.2M 1.6M to 2M 1.3M to 1.5M Private Banking & Wealth Management Regulatory Compliance AML Compliance Investment Suitability 200K to 300K N/A 420K to 600K 350K to 420K 400K to 550K 750K to 900K 600K to 750K 600K to 800K 1.4M to 1.8M 1M to 1.2M 1.2M to 1.6M 2M to 2.5M 1.6M to 2.2M 1.8M to 2M Asset Management Business Compliance Investment Compliance 360K to 540K 380K to 600K 700K to 850K 700K to 850K 1.2M to 1.5M 1.2M to 1.5M 1.8M to 2.5M 1.6M to 1.8M Insurance ED( 15 +) 200K to 240K 360K to 480K 520K to 700K 800K to 1M 1.2M to 1.6M Consultancy Firms Regulatory and Risk 260K to 350K 400K to 500K 560K to 800K 840K to 1M 1.1M to 1.5M Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

5 Contacts Jeremy Lam Director Risk & Compliance Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Jeremy is Director of the Risk & Compliance Financial Services team based in Hong Kong. He specialises in the placement of experienced Risk & Compliance professionals across Asia primarily recruiting for financial institutions such as Investment, Corporate, Consumer and Private Banks, Asset Management firms, Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Insurance firms. He covers functions including AML and KYC specialists, Advisory Compliance (Equities, Fixed Income, Corporate Finance & Control Room), Investment Compliance and Core Compliance (e.g. Regulatory Affairs & Licensing and Credit, Market & Operational Risk). Previously Jeremy worked for an international recruitment firm in Risk & Compliance and has built a strong network of decision makers in both Hong Kong and Singapore. He has a Bachelor s degree in Actuarial Science & Mass Media from the University of Toronto, Canada. Jeremy is fluent in Cantonese and English. Gina Hui Associate Director Risk & Compliance Hong Kong, Asia Pacific ginahui@aquissearch.com Gina is the Associate Director of the Risk & Compliance Financial Services team, based in Hong Kong. Gina specialises in the recruitment of Compliance professionals in functions covering AML and KYC specialists, Advisory Compliance for Equities, Fixed Income, Corporate Finance and Control Room, Investment Compliance, Core Compliance, Regulatory Affairs & Licensing and Credit, Market & Operational Risk. She has particularly strong networks in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Consultancy and Consumer Banking. Gina has five years of Executive Search experience. Prior to her recruitment career she worked for a number of years in Accounting with internationally recognised firms in HK. Gina has a Bachelor s degree in Accounting & Finance from the University of Hong Kong. She speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

6 Contacts Bharisha Mirpuri Senior Consultant Risk & Compliance Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Bharisha is a Senior Consultant in the Risk & Compliance team, based in Hong Kong. She is responsible for hiring Risk & Compliance professionals across all levels for a myriad of Buy and Sell side Financial Service organizations in North Asia. She focuses on a spectrum of roles including Financial Crime, KYC, Advisory Compliance (Products & Control Room) alongside Central Compliance (Regulatory & Testing) alongside Credit, Market, Business & Investment and Operational Risk. She began as a researcher at Aquis Search forming strong networks and relationships with both candidates and clients within the industry. Her expertise lies within Asset Management, Private Banking and Investment Risk. Bharisha has a Bachelor s degree in Psychology & International Studies from Monash University, Australia. She is fluent in English and Hindi, and speaks conversational French and Cantonese. Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide

7 About Aquis Search Aquis Search is a regional leader for Corporate Governance and Control functions recruitment covering roles in Finance, Human Resources & Corporate Services, Legal, Risk and Compliance. We operate from offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Mumbai handling search assignments in numerous Asian countries. Our clients are members of a global network of prestigious financial institutions, leading UK & US law firms and many of the largest companies within the Fortune 500. Professional integrity is the key value on which our client relationships are built and the majority of our business is the result of personal referral. This is testament to the high level of professionalism for which we are known. For further information please contact Aquis Search below or to aquis@aquissearch.com Hong Kong: 19/F, Kailey Tower, 16 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong Singapore: 11/F Straits Trading Building, 9 Battery Road, Singapore Shanghai: Unit B21, 22/F, Tower 3, Jing An Kerry Centre, 1228 Middle Yan an Road, Shanghai, China Taipei: 8F., No.367, Fuxing N. Rd., Songshan Dist, Taipei City 105 Taiwan Beijing: Room 68, China Life West, 5/F, China Life Tower, No.16 Chaowai Street, Chaoyang district, Beijing Mumbai: 1012, Level 1, Regus Bandra Kurla Complex, Trade Center, Bandra, Mumbai Delhi: Suite 422, Level 4, Rectangle 1, Commercial Complex D-4, Saket, New Delhi , India Hong Kong Compliance Salary Survey & Guide