Asia senior investment banker hires jump 60%, survey shows

Bright spots for hiring included Japan, where there has been a talent war, pushing up wages

Hiring of senior investment bankers jumped 60% across Asia-Pacific in 2025 amid a pickup in deal flow, according to a survey by recruitment firm Maven Partnership.

The executive search firm tracked a total of 105 Asia Pacific investment banking moves at the managing director level and above last year and found that 64 of them were hired by a competing investment bank, doubling from the previous year.

Bright spots for hiring included Japan, where there has been a talent war, pushing up wages. The country made up 16% of total managing director hires across Asia Pacific in 2025, according to the survey, up from 3% in the previous year. Southeast Asia made up 23% of total managing director hires in 2025, the survey showed.

In Hong Kong, where there has been a boom in public offerings, hiring held steady by making up roughly a third of managing director hires. India accounted for 3% of hires, down from 13% in 2024.

“While 2024 was defined by growth in India and South Korea, 2025 marked a transformational year for Japan and Southeast Asia,” the report said.

Maven Partnership is an executive search and recruitment firm with offices in New York, London, Dubai and Hong Kong.