In the month of January there were 53,329 new banking jobs posted by the world’s largest 1,000 financial services firms, according to the GlobalData jobs analytics tool. While the major US banks are the most active, notable banks in Europe and Canada are also hiring, writes Douglas Blakey
Despite the hammer blow of a pandemic induced recession, banking employment numbers held up last year at the largest banks in the US.
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To date, the double whammy of declining branch numbers and the rising use of AI has not hit employee numbers. Total US branches inched down by 4% in 2020 as the digital banking drive accelerated. But across the largest US banks, total FTEs dropped by only 0.4%. And if the first month of 2021 is anything to go by, the jobs market within US banks remains resilient.
JPMorgan Chase is the most active bank globally in terms of new job postings, with 5,414 roles listed in the month of January.
Wells Fargo lists 3,299 new roles with Citizens (1,556) and PNC (1,022) also active. Other prominent hirers include Bank of America (925), Morgan Stanley (762) and Truist (709).
Goldman Sachs continues its recruitment drive witnessed in 2019. Goldman Sachs posts 625 jobs in January as it ramps up its move into retail banking. Last year, Goldman Sachs notably grew FTEs in the US by 20% to almost 2,000.
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By GlobalDataOutside the US, Mexico’s Banco Nacional de Mexico is responsible for the second- largest new wave of jobs with 3,757 new jobs posted in the month of January.
Meantime, the Canadian majors are off to a strong start in 2021. Scotiabank posts 1,655 jobs ahead of RBC (919) and BMO (918) and Toronto Dominion (380). Notably, CIBC Wealth Management posts 649 new listings. Another active private banking unit is Wells Fargo Private, with 368 new roles listed.
Banking jobs snapshot: European highlights
Elsewhere, jobs growth in Europe is more muted but there are exceptions with BNP Paribas the most active. BNP Paribas’ asset management unit posts 1,263 jobs while BNP at group level posts 1,103 new job listings.
Rivals BPCE and Société Générale each list over 600 new posts.
Other notable European headquartered hirers include Standard Chartered (1,490), Belgium’s KBC (1,453) and Barclays (853).
Banks based in Poland are active, notably the local unit of Santander with 783 listings. Both Swiss majors, UBS and Credit Suisse list over 400 new posts.
In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is a notable hirer with 438 jobs posted. In South America, the local unit of Scotiabank lists 664 new roles.
South Africa’s Standard Bank is the most active in the region with 227 new roles listed in January, ahead of Absa (134).
In Singapore, DBS lists 300 new posts while the major banks in Australia are also active. NAB lists 304 new roles ahead of Macquarrie (257), ANZ (226) and Westpac (217).
At the other end of the scale, a number of notable retail banks listed no new jobs during all of January, including US Bancorp and NatWest Group.
Grab Financial: raising capital and major jobs drive
The most active digital challenger in January is Grab, the Asian ride hailing app. Grab kicked off 2021 by raising $300m from backers for its financial services arm. Grab Financial is now valued at about $3bn.
The new funds will be used to launch its proposed digital bank in Singapore. In addition, Grab Financial is rolling out a buy-now-pay-later programme. And it is on a recruitment drive. Grab Financial ends January with 527 active jobs listed having closed off 194 roles during the month.
While Grab has big ambitions and deep pockets, it will find the BNPL sector is becoming a crowded market where it operates. Razer is rolling out a BNPL product while Agoda aims to offer BNPL products in Malaysia and Singapore.
The RBI website will track banking job listings throughout the year with weekly updates. In addition, RBI will identify jobs market trends and insights with data from GlobalData’s proprietary Intelligence Center jobs datatool that are of relevance for the industry.
