Overseas bankers in Hong Kong could easily find plum jobs when global firms hired aggressively in the past. Not anymore, with the deep cuts at global banks.
Expat bankers who lost their jobs and want to stay in Hong Kong may have to consider lower-paying options or lower-ranking jobs, says recruitment experts. Some could be looking to switch careers, while others join fintechs and cryptocurrency outfits.
«A lot of people are going to have to take down their expectations, even get demoted and really take any opportunity they can really find, as opposed to waiting out in the market for a magic position to come up again because it will not,» said Benjamin Quinlan, chief executive officer of financial-services consultancy Quinlan & Associates, who was quoted in Bloomberg (behind paywall).
Recent Cuts Different From The Past
During the global financial crisis of 2008, Asian banks and local Chinese firms hired those who had been laid off by foreign players, said Will Glover, managing director of Hong Kong-based recruitment firm Macdonald & Co.
Plum jobs would be difficult to find as Deutsche Bank recently announced plans for wide-ranging cuts, with Nomura also cutting jobs in Hong Kong. «You get that volume of people anywhere into a market at one time and inevitably a lot of people will leave the market altogether. There will not be enough opportunities to absorb all that supply,» Glover added.
Other Challenges
Besides facing a shrinking job market within Hong Kong, expat bankers now face competition from young professionals raised in Hong Kong. These job candidates are preferred because they tend to be multilingual, understand the Chinese culture, and do not require expensive relocation packages.
On average, expatriate executives in Hong Kong earn $276,417 a year, including benefits, according to a May report by consultancy ECA International.
Deep Cuts
Deutsche Bank’s website stated it had more than 1,200 people in Hong Kong last Wednesday, but the statistic has since been removed, Bloomberg reported. The bank has cut about half its equities staff in Asia and plans to reduce the group by another 25 percent within a month.
One former Deutsche Bank employee, Su Zhu, formerly based in Hong Kong now runs a Singapore foreign exchange and cryptocurrency fund called Three Arrows Capital, said that many bankers have gone into the crypto industry over the last year.
