Lower bonus expectation in finance industry: Survey

Lower bonus expectation in finance industry: Survey

TODAY reports: Of the 696 professionals polled, only 42 per cent are looking forward to an increment to their bonuses, down from last year’s 50 per cent.

SINGAPORE: Fewer professionals in the financial industry here are expecting a bigger annual bonus this year, a survey has found, with the sector’s performance seeing some pullback in recent times amid market and geopolitical uncertainties.

Of the 696 professionals polled by eFinancialCareers in Singapore between September and October, only 42 per cent are looking forward to an increment to their bonuses, down from last year’s 50 per cent.

The survey results come at a time when the finance and insurance sector reported a 5.5 per cent on-year growth in the second quarter of this year, down from the first quarter’s 5.7 per cent and last year’s 10.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, the latest data by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) shows.

But Mr George McFerran, eFinancialCareers’ director for sales and marketing, said: “Results from the survey are not a reflection of the health of the financial services industry, but indicate that professionals have more realistic expectations when it comes to bonus payout. We’ve often seen a mismatch in the past.”

LONG TERM CAREER PROSPECTS

The Government is, however, cautious about Singaporeans’ long term career prospects in the financial sector, which has halved its hiring since 2012, from about 10,000 new jobs annually in 2010 and 2011. New technologies have further transformed banking operations, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said in June during the anniversary dinner of the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore.

Reflecting this trend, the latest MAS data also reveals slowing employment in the sector this year, from 2,400 new jobs in the first quarter to second quarter’s 1,300 new jobs.

“There is a driving force that is transforming activity across all financial markets and that is technological change,” Mr Tharman had said in June. “Our financial sector has significant opportunities ahead of it… but growth will demand deeper skills and expertise, rather than a large expansion of jobs.”

Against this backdrop, the Government is setting aside about S$60 million this year for training programmes, in a bid to enhance Singaporeans’ banking expertise for an increasingly sophisticated and challenging industry.

-TODAY/cy

- wong chee tat :)