Singapore banks’ hiring intentions plunge on back of weak market outlook

But compliance and regulation roles are in demand.

Finance professionals looking to switch employers should be cautious about turning in their resignation letters without having a new job to fall back on. Latest findings from the Hudson report showed that the banking and financial services industry suffered the biggest drop in hiring intentions for the first half of 2015 due to a softer market outlook.

The report showed that a net 36.2% of employers in the industry are intending to increase headcount, down 13.8pp from the second half of 2014. However, demand remains robust for compliance and regulation professionals as banks address international regulatory reform.

“While Asian banks have generally had a strong 2014 with some home-grown banks expanding their operations, there has been a simultaneous softening of the market as managers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach to hiring. Despite this, we are seeing a keen focus on compliance and regulation roles as banks address international regulatory reform. We are also seeing a keen demand for credit analysts, corporate banking relationship managers, commodity finance relationship managers and private banking relationship managers as banks look to market customised solutions for corporate clients,” said Emmanuel White, General Manager, Hudson Singapore.