The hiring window is open a crack for the Asian financial sector, keeping opportunities afloat for now while the industry shrinks across the globe.
Commercial and private bankers, mid-office staffers, risk managers and prime brokers are needed. Fund managers and lawyers are in demand as well.
Asia's persistent economic growth and tough regulations in the United States and Europe have combined to provide a pipeline of financial jobs in cities like Hong Kong and Singapore.
"In the last 12 months we've seen banks move a lot more middle-office roles to the region," said Neil Dyball, associate director for financial services at recruitment agency Robert Walters in Singapore. Mid-office jobs handle compliance related matters and materials.
While banks and advisory groups continue to take applications, the pace of hiring across Asia has slowed, executives and headhunters say, as the region is not immune to global market turmoil hitting North America and Europe.
Adding to the slowdown are thin fee margins and a shallow talent pool that has led to big jumps in Asia-related costs.
Despite these factors, job seekers are finding openings at compliance desks, private equity funds and law firms, albeit for less money.
Excessively paid professionals on fat overseas packages are now the exception and not the rule as they were before the financial crisis.
Legal professionals are still sought after too. Clifford Chance, one of London's top so-called 'magic circle' law firms and the largest of its peers, has added 12 new partners in Asia -- nine of whom are focused on the Greater China region -- to meet its growth goals.
Toughening regulations
One major force behind the Asia hiring scene remains regulatory moves. Key structural changes proposed by new US and European rules are boosting Asian middle-office staffing that handle compliance and risk.
Among the banks growing in this area is JPMorgan, which opened a new middle office for its global corporate banking division in Singapore.
Big European banks in particular are looking at major reorganisations as they want to shift some of their operations out of their US bases in order to avoid the new rules brought in by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms.
"For non-American banks that have a significant presence in the US, a number are now looking at their business models and saying if Dodd-Frank is going to make it impossible or very expensive to do business in the US do they need to continue doing it there," said Chris Matten, a financial services partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"We anticipate that Asia is likely to be a beneficiary of that."
The United States' 'Volcker rule', which bans banks from engaging in proprietary trading, is another driver. While US banks are unable to engage in proprietary trading anywhere in the world, non-American institutions are looking at resurrecting their Wall Street prop desks elsewhere.
Global banks have announced tens of thousands of job cuts as the industry grapples with the escalating sovereign debt crisis in Europe and slower economic growth in the United States.
Bank of America said on Friday it would cut 3,500 positions this quarter.
"A lot of aggressive hiring plans are being reconsidered," said London-based Tim Sheffield, CEO of recruitment consultancy Sheffield Haworth. "Banks are more cautious, and want to see whether they can transfer people internally."
Even with that caution, some banks stated during second-quarter earnings that Asia remained a hiring bright spot.
Standard Chartered, a lender where the vast majority of its business and headcount is in Asia, expects to add about 1,000 jobs this year.
Even HSBC Holdings, which is axing 30,000 staff globally, will still add up to 15,000 in emerging markets over the next three years, with Asia a huge part of its emerging market footprint.
Competition for talent from smaller brokers and boutiques is pushing up salary demands for a pool that is still smaller than other regions.
HSBC blamed wage inflation in Asia among other factors for the rising costs, while StanChart said first-half 2011 staff costs rose 15 percent on the year.
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West to east
Even with the prospect of higher personnel costs, the increasing flow of capital from West to East continues to push demand for more financial professionals in Asia. Prime broking -- the services offered to hedge funds -- and wealth management are two areas of expansion.
Asian institutional investors held about USD 1.6 trillion in assets in 2010, according to Citigroup. While that is only 7% of the global asset pool, it's a four-fold rise in five years, a research note from the bank says.
Aside from Clifford Chance, other law firms expanding in Asia include Berwin Leighton Paisner, which plans to open a multi-disciplinary office in Hong Kong and is eyeing expansion into mainland China; Beachcroft, which has opened an office in Singapore; Olswang, which is set for a Singapore launch; and Herbert Smith, which is looking at options for expanding into South Korea.
US private equity funds, including TPG and Bain Capital, are expanding their China teams. 3i Group plc and Permira are also adding staff.
Citi started expanding its Asia commodities trading team aggressively, hiring several top traders, including a veteran oil trader from Goldman Sachs to be its global head.
"There is a tremendous economic and business opportunity in this part of the world," said Rajiv Lulla, head of transportation investment banking in Asia for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who recently moved to Hong Kong from Paris.
