Job Losses Loom In Hong Kong Banks As Focus Turns To Productivity

Many senior roles were laid off, and banks also set informal hiring freezes, experts said.

Bankers seeking a job in Hong Kong should brace themselves for obstacles as financial institutions slowed investment for human resources.

The year of 2022 saw hiring slow and roles get cut, although the overall numbers did not register any dramatic falls. Data gathered by Asian Banking & Finance revealed that there are a total of approximately 78,576 individuals working across 17 banks in the city as of end-2022. This is marginally lower when compared to combined total headcounts of the 17 banks in end-2021, when there were 79,710 people employed by the banks.

HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), and Hang Seng Bank remain the three largest banks in Hong Kong in terms of the number of people employed. HSBC and Hang Seng Bank had slightly lower headcounts compared to the past year. Based on the numbers, HSBC cut another 500 jobs in Hong Kong; whilst Hang Seng Bank’s headcount fell by 600 people.

Speaking to Asian Banking & Finance, a representative from Hang Seng bank, which is celebrating its 90th year anniversary in 2023, shared that the bank is focusing on promoting its talent development priorities and equipping its workforce with future-oriented skills.

“People are our most important asset. We continue to invest in developing our colleagues through structured programmes and equip them with future-skills to support their growth. We maintain an agile approach to people resources management to meet business needs and build talent pipelines,” the representative said in a statement via e-mail correspondence.