Large banks are hiring multilingual bankers and staff as they prepare to expand their services in the 11 cities that make up the bay area. Meanwhile, virtual banks are grabbing talent and adding headcount.

Big banks such as Standard Chartered, HSBC and DBS are hiring multilingual bankers with solid backgrounds in credit, information technology, and compliance as part of their expansion into the 11 cities that make up the bay area scheme.

«The best candidates are the ones who were previously stationed in mainland Chinese cities like Beijing or Shanghai for a few years. These candidates would need to understand both Hong Kong and mainland [China’s] culture, corporate structures and connections with China government departments,» said Jerry Chang, managing director of recruiting firm Barons & Company, who was quoted in «South China Morning Post».

Ambitious Plans for Greater Bay Area

Beijing in February unveiled a blueprint for the Greater Bay Area, where it envisions a powerful economic and business hub. The area is home to some 68 million people and has a combined gross domestic product of roughly $1.5 trillion, almost equivalent to that of Australia or South Korea.

The overall plan, which includes long-term goals through 2035, is to turn the Greater Bay Area into a global technology innovation center and build advanced manufacturing and modern services industries, the State Council, or cabinet, said in the guidelines.

Plans of CFOs and Virtual Banks

All the virtual bank license holders are also looking to hire bankers because they are preparing to launch their services, as reported by finews.asia earlier. On average, each virtual bank has HK$1.9 billion ($242.07 million) in capital, which is well above the minimum requirement of HK$300 million, according to HKMA data. That gives them enough cash to hire staff since they do not need to spend on rent or setting up physical branches.

One in five chief financial officers (CFOs) in Hong Kong plans to hire permanent professionals for their virtual banking services, while a third plan to take on temporary staff, according to recruitment consultancy Robert Half, citing a survey of 150 CFOs in the city.