Singapore - Banking & Financial Services Salary Survey 2012

Banking & Finance Salary Survey 2012

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Singapore

Banking & Finance Salary Survey 2012-Singapore

Legal banking & financial services market overview

In the first half of 2011 recruitment activity levels remained robust with consistent hiring witnessed across the banking and financial services sector, following the buoyancy of 2010. The European sovereign debt issue began to cause uncertainty within the Asian market late in the second quarter of the year and recruitment activity in the banking sector fell considerably with a more considered approach to hiring. In the wider financial services sector however, the general demand for lawyers remained constant throughout 2011.

Since early 2012 we have seen a restrained increase in the level of recruitment activity following a solid first quarter when lookimg at company earnings and the continued growth of the South East Asia economies. However, this positive data is tempered with the continued fears over the eurozone crisis and the downgraded growth forecast for the Chinese economy. A conservative approach to recruitment for the remainder of 2012 is highly likely and any escalation in the eurozone crisis could lead to a hiring freeze for all but Asian headquartered banking and financial services organisations.

Staff retention continues to be a key concern for hiring managers due to the uncertainty of receiving replacement headcount. Although redundancies in Singapore have not been widespread there is still continued cost pressure on in-house legal departments. This focus on reducing or maintaining internal and external legal costs will undoubtedly impact legal providers.

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Hayden GordineManager


Supply & demandThere are a broad number of skill sets in demand within the banking sector and the majority of roles are replacement rather than additional hires. As investment banks in Singapore continue to provide a more sophisticated offering, the requirements for candidates to have specalised product knowledge, and often secondment experience and language skills, has increased. These additional requirements are likely to remain until there is a significant growth in the recruitment market. Our investment banking clients have largely targeted applicants from international law firms based in Singapore and the top Singaporean firms although due to the scarcity of specialised skills, applicants from Hong Kong and international returnees have also been in demand. The general demand for fixed income / commodities derivative lawyers seen in 2010, and early 2011 has ceased although there is a shortage of candidates locally in this market. Demand for ISDA professionals has continued to be buoyant and there is a lack of supply for experienced professionals at the mid to senior negotiator level with many institutions having to fill roles with Hong Kong and London candidiates.

One of the biggest issues for candidates has been the lack of senior roles within the investment banks especially at Director level. This is due to proactive succession planning and internal promotion of mid-level lawyers. Corporate and commercial banks continue to seek candidates with strong technical knowledge. Traditionally, candidates for this market have come from the top Singaporean law firms with banks offering an improved work/life balance and a broader remit of work. There is intense competition for good Singaporean lawyers who may consider moving in-house from international law firms who are offering attractive packages and international experience.

Demand for lawyers with custody and treasury experience is high, particularly with many institutions placing an emphasis on flow transactions, resulting in higher salaries and competition for experienced candidates. Although many private banks and wealth managers continue to have aggressive growth plans to support the increasing wealth in Asia, the hiring of wealth management lawyers has greatly reduced over the past 12 months.

Within the financial services sector, scarce skill sets in funds and investment management have resulted in employers paying a premium. Lawyers with strong regulatory experience are also particularly valued, which has been the result of the heightened regulatory pressure on banking and financial institutions.

Across the general banking and financial sector there is demand for support lawyers in areas such as IT/IP, data protection, employment, and general shared services roles. Also, generally there is an over supply of capital markets and project finance lawyers looking to make the move in-house in Singapore. Many of these candidates have high private practice salaries and there is a limited number of jobs with equivalent salary. Many are however willing to take a considerable drop in salary to move in-house.

Overall, more and more lawyers are willing to considering a move in-house and competition for available roles is high.

Remuneration

Total remuneration in the banking sector has remained stagnant or slightly declined overall. Bonuses were generally less compared to previous years across the banking industry. A key issue is managing expectations, and while some lawyers were dissatisfied with the size and structure of their bonuses, this dissipated when it become apparent that bonuses were down across the market. There was a lacklustre post-bonus hiring period as lawyers did not see the benefit in moving, combined with limited opportunities.

Remuneration within the financial services sector has also remained largely static, including bonuses. This conservative approach towards pay increments and bonuses is largely a result of the various european debt issues witnessed in 2011, and looks set to persist for the immediate future.

Salaries

Derivatives / Commodities / Structured Products

Level / Experience (years) Annual salary S$ Bonus

0 – 2 95,000 – 120,000 1 – 3 months

3 – 5 150,000 – 250,000 1 – 3 months

6 – 8 250,000 – 325,000 1 – 4 months

9 –11 260,000 – 400,000 3 – 4 months

12+ 400,000+ 3 - 5+ months

Capital Markets (Debt & Equity)


0 – 2 95,000 – 120,000 1 – 2 months

3 – 5 150,000 – 235,000 1 – 2 months

6 – 8 250,000 – 325,000 1 – 4 months

9 –11 260,000 – 375,000 3 – 4 months

12+ 400,000+ 3 – 5+ months

General Banking / APLMA


0 – 2 65,000 – 120,000 1 – 2 months

3 – 5 120,000 – 180,000 1 – 4 months

6 – 8 180,000 – 300,000 2 – 5 months

9 –11 200,000 – 310,000 3 – 6 months

12+ 325,000+ 3 - 6+ months

Private Banking / Wealth Management


0 – 2 80,000 – 120,000 2 – 4 months

3 – 5 100,000 – 180,000 2 – 6 months

6 – 8 140,000 – 240,000 2 – 6 months

9 –11 175,000 – 280,000 2 – 6 months

12+ 300,000+ 5+ months

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ISDA


0 - 2 30,000 – 80,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 70,000 – 130,000 1 – 3 months

6 - 8 120,000 – 200,000 2 – 4 months

9 - 11 190,000 – 280,000 3 – 6 months

12+ 300,000+ 5+ months

Financial Services / Regulatory


0 - 2 50,000 – 85,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 70,000 – 135,000 1 – 3 months

6 - 8 125,000 – 200,000 1 – 4 months

9 - 11 170,000 – 300,000 3 – 4 months

12+ 300,000+ 5+ months

Insurance


0 - 2 50,000 – 80,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 75,000 – 125,000 0 – 2 months

6 - 8 110,000 – 200,000 1 – 4 months

9 - 11 170,000 – 300,000 2 – 4 months

12+ 300,000+ 4+ months

Funds / Asset Management / Investment Management


0 - 2 50,000 – 80,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 70,000 – 140,000 1 – 3 months

6 - 8 115,000 – 215,000 2 – 4 months

9 - 11 180,000 – 310,000 3 – 6 months

12+ 300,000+ 5+ months

Private Equity


0 - 2 50,000 – 80,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 70,000 – 150,000 1 – 3 months

6 - 8 120,000 – 225,000 2 – 4 months

9 - 11 190,000 – 325,000 3 – 6 months

12+ 300,000+ 5+ months


Compliance market overview

With global businesses continuing to expand their operations in the Asia Pacific region, Singapore has emerged as the common target location; contributing to the demand for compliance professionals. Equally, there has been growth in the number of organisations who are establishing their compliance functions in Singapore from scratch, thereby increasing the demand for standalone-type compliance roles.

The impact of the increased regulatory regime with the advent of newly introduced legislation, such as the UK Anti-Bribery Act, has helped to keep demand robust within the commerce and industry sectors.

In terms of remuneration, the slight upward pressure on base salaries is unsurprising. The recruitment trend to date has favoured experienced hires who can hit the ground running, more so than fresh graduates who could be trained and developed. Premiums are also afforded for compliance professionals who are either qualified lawyers or come equipped with legal experience.

Talent retention has also become a more focused goal of employers. Employees are increasingly being counter-offered by their existing employers as they attempt their exit.

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Jeremy PohConsultant

Compliance Banking & Finance Salary Survey 2012-Singapore

Commerce & Industry


0 - 2 35,000 – 62,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 54,000 – 120,000 1 – 2 months

6 - 8 74,000 – 175,000 2 – 3 months

9 - 11 170,000 – 280,000 4 – 6 months

12+ 270,000+ 5+ months

Funds / Asset Management / Investment Management


0 - 2 38,000 – 60,000 0 – 2 months

3 - 5 59,000 – 130,000 2 – 3 months

6 - 8 80,000 – 190,000 4 – 6 months

9 - 11 180,000 – 350,000 4 – 8 months

12+ 300,000 5+ months

Investment Banking


0 - 2 45,000 – 80,000 1 – 2 months

3 - 5 70,000 – 150,000 2 – 3 months

6 - 8 138,000 – 200,000 4 – 6 months

9 - 11 185,000 – 285,000 4 – 8 months

12+ 275,000+ 6+ months

Wealth Management / Private Banking


0 - 2 45,000 – 85,000 1 – 2 months

3 - 5 80,000 – 170,000 2 – 3 months

6 - 8 155,000 – 230,000 4 – 6 months

9 - 11 200,000 – 310,000 4 – 6 months

12+ 300,000+ 6+ months

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Compliance Banking & Finance Salary Survey 2012-Singapore

Contact

For more information on living and working on Singapore or if you are interested in relocating to the area please contact:

Jeremy PohT: +65 6420 0500E: [email protected]

Established in the 1980s, Taylor Root is now widely recognised as being one of the world’s leading legal recruiters. Operating out of offices in the UK, Dubai, Asia and Australia, we are ideally placed to assist law firms, banks and companies with their legal recruitment on an international basis. Taylor Root has a strong track record in the recruitment of: Heads of legal and legal advisers; law firm associates and partners; contract/locum lawyers; paralegals; company secretaries and compliance professionals.

Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group. The SR Group is a specialist recruitment consultancy dedicated to raising standards in the business environments that we serve. The sectors we cover include tax, legal, human resources, marketing and executive search, dealing with a substantial number of the world’s leading professional partnerships, multi-national corporations and international banking groups as well as small to medium sized developing organisations.

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Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group

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Singapore - Banking & Financial Services Salary Survey 2012

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