As more physical activities are being replaced by digital initiatives, businesses and consumers are inevitably more vulnerable to online threats and digital crimes. To counter the anticipated increase in digital threats, firms are beefing up their compliance and risk management teams to safeguard against money laundering and terrorist financing. Compliance and risk management professionals will be increasingly expected to apply their experience and expertise in roles, such as financial crime compliance (FCC) and anti-money laundering (AML).
Companies face a constant challenge to find talent for these niche roles that require specific skills and in-depth industry knowledge. Therefore, compliance and risk management remains a candidate-driven market in 2021. There are also rising expectations for risk management and compliance candidates to be digitally-adept, be open to wear multiple hats and have strong language proficiency.
Firms are digitising their risk and compliance processes to stay competitive through rapid and comprehensive responses, drive greater effectiveness, lower costs and enhance the customer experience. Candidates who have experience working with a variety of risk & compliance systems and good data analytical skills are highly sought-after. Within the risk and compliance industry in Hong Kong SAR, we expect to see higher talent demand in liquidity risk, interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB), special assets management, distressed asset coverage and sanctions.
2021 labour and salary trends for risk and compliance management professionals
The pandemic has altered job seekers’ perspective towards income and job security. Many candidates are becoming more interested in the company’s financial health as it usually signals greater job stability.
Chinese securities firms have performed very well in 2020 despite the health crisis. Hence, candidates are more likely to hold out for regional or local banks, as they are less likely to make any large-scale job redundancies. Employees working in Chinese firms can also expect a relatively stable bonus payout of four to six months salary for work done in 2020.
download the digital copy of the hong kong SAR 2021 market outlook and salary snapshot