Hong Kong bankers suffer sharp cuts in pay, bonuses as pandemic-driven downturn weighs on outlook, headhunters say
- Financial services workers being asked to take pay cuts this year, saw annual bonuses slashed as coronavirus hit
- Companies quietly implementing hiring freezes until second half of year
Bankers and other financial services workers in Hong Kong are taking pay cuts of as much as 20 per cent and seeing even sharper hits to their annual bonuses as the city navigates a historic economic downturn spawned by months of anti-government street protests and the coronavirus pandemic, according to headhunters.
The pay cuts come amid rising concerns about Hong Kong’s future as an international financial centre and as global lenders slash expenses and slow hiring to navigate a downturn that the International Monetary Fund has said could rival the Great Depression.
Several banks, including Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale, have paused job cuts as part of restructurings announced ahead of the pandemic but could restart those cuts as soon as the economic picture becomes clearer and lockdowns ease from New York to Singapore. Other firms have implemented hiring freezes and are delaying bringing in new hires until the second half of the year, headhunters said.
Lenders from HSBC to Standard Chartered also have said bonus pools could be targeted for cuts this year as lenders collectively set aside tens of billions of dollars for bad loans and seek to reduce expenses further if the downturn is prolonged.
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“It’s a really tough hiring environment,” said John Mullally, regional director for southern China and Hong Kong financial services at search firm Robert Walters. “In 15 years of doing this, it’s the toughest I’ve seen. It’s comparable to the financial crisis.”
