Demand for private bankers is expected to rise by nearly 60 per cent over the next two years in already labour-tight Asia - higher than anywhere else in the world - as the sector braces for unprecedented growth, according to a recent survey.
The survey, by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Singapore, predicted that in Asia-Pacific private banking assets under management would grow at 29 per cent per annum, and revenue at 26 per cent a year. '[Banks] are anticipating extremely high rates of profitable growth that have not been seen during the 14-year history of our survey, and probably at any other time,' said Justin Ong, PwC Singapore's leader for wealth management practice.
As a result, PwC expected the demand for client relationship managers - the frontline people who deal with customers - to soar by 57 per cent in Asia-Pacific alone in the next two years. The global demand over the same period was expected to rise by only 32 per cent.
In a market where many openings for wealth managers remain unfilled for 12 months or more, compensation is forecast to rise far above inflation. PwC warned that this would hurt profitability.
'Private banks don't seem to have grasped the notion that money isn't everything. The survey results show that really good private bankers leave mainly because of organisational or cultural issues,' Mr Ong said.
The survey, which polled senior executives of 265 firms in the private banking and wealth management sector, found most respondents ranked relations with senior management, corporate culture and career path as more important than pay in deciding whether to stay with their current employer or to leave.
