HSBC set to sharply increase pay for some junior bankers as competition for talent heats up
- Some junior staff could see their 2021 bonuses double
- Battle for talent is intensifying as HSBC tries to keep up with Wall Street rivals
Senior bankers also could see bonus increases of at least 10 per cent as Hong Kong’s biggest currency-issuing bank tries to keep up with Wall Street rivals, the person said.
HSBC declined to comment on the bonus payments.
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HSBC doubles down on Asia in massive staffing overhaul
Overall, the bank cut its bonus pool by 20 per cent to US$2.7 billion for the 2020 financial year.
Bloomberg reported the 2021 bonus plans earlier on Monday.
HSBC’s plans to increase its bonus payments comes just over a week before the London-based lender is expected to report its annual results.
Many large Wall Street banks reported acute jumps in their expenses in 2021, driven by increased compensation costs as economies began to recover from the pandemic and more employees considered shifting careers or employers after nearly two years of coronavirus-related lockdowns or other restrictions.
“There’s global competition, there’s nonbank competition, there’s direct private lending competition, there’s Jane Street competition, there’s Citadel competition, there’s fintech competition, there’s PayPal competition, there’s Stripe competition,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on a January 14 conference call. “It’s a lot of competition, and we intend to win, and sometimes that means you got to spend a few bucks.”
The salary push also comes as banks reported healthy gains in their profits and resumed shareholder payouts in 2021.
In the first nine months of 2021, HSBC said its after-tax profit more than tripled to US$10.8 billion, driven in part by a release of reserves set aside for soured loans.
