Asia banks seeking tech hires over star bankers this year

Hong Kong

FINANCIAL institutions in the Asia-Pacific region will be more inclined to hire technology specialists this year than investment bankers as they enhance product offerings and upgrade their systems, according to a survey by Options Group Inc.

Among regional financial-services managers, 40 per cent say they expect to increase their headcount for information technology-related roles this year, according to a September-October survey conducted by the New York-based recruiter. By comparison, only 18 per cent of the 380 managers surveyed intended to add jobs in investment banking, while 29 per cent may do so in fixed income and equities sales and trading.