BANK RANKINGS: HONG KONG

Yung. ESG remains a hot talking point, but candidates will need relevant exposure to be considered in these positions.

“Before [the] crypto winter arrived, anyone who had experience or interest in crypto is a prospective candidate to the countless digital asset players which have emerged in the market over the recent few years. We saw high levels of hiring and interview activities across the majority of 2022, until the last quarter,” Yung said.

Too little, too late

coming out in relation to various banks, there are still some roles that are in demand for banks.

“Across the sell side, mid to back office operations, compliance risk, finance and audit are constantly in demand for talent,” Yung said. Private bankers and relationship managers from retail banks are also sought after.

“If you're a relationship manager who can bring in assets, who can move clients, there's still a demand for that. But outside of that, [the demand] is not particularly active,” Mullally said.

Banks are also still looking into hiring quality developers and programmers, as this is a shallow talent pool in Hong Kong, he added.

In 2022, ESG and crypto are two “hot topics” in hiring according to

In 2022, the strict travel rules reportedly drove bankers and experts away from Hong Kong. Hong Kong has since lifted its strict travel restrictions, but the effect is unfortunately nil.

“It definitely increased confidence in the market. The problem is, it happened after the financial services and the investment banking markets really slowed down hiring because of the broader geopolitical challenges in the world and broader economic challenges, such as the looming threat of a global recession,” Mullally said.

“The lifting of the quarantine was very much welcome for Hong Kong as a place for employers and employees. But the challenge now is that not many financial services firms are hiring and they’re certainly not hiring near the level that they hired in 2021,” he added.