Should Bankers Move to #SaudiArabia? Pay is Surging, But Hiring is a Challenge - Bloomberg

Should Bankers Move to Saudi Arabia? Pay is Surging, But Hiring is a Challenge - Bloomberg

Digital City, where the PIF offices are located, Riyadh in January

Photographer: Jeremy Suyker/Bloomberg

Even as the global financial community contends with layoffs and lower bonuses, banking jobs remain plentiful and salaries are surging in one unexpected corner of the world: Saudi Arabia.

It’s a pay boom driven by the expansionist zeal of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who is flush with cash from oil sales and determined to make the economy a financial powerhouse. State vehicles like his Public Investment Fund, with more than $600 billion of assets, are hiring at breakneck speed, often recruiting staff from foreign firms based in the country. Wall Street banks are also desperate to expand, drawn by the promise of deals linked to an outsized attempt at economic reform.

But on the ground, hiring is proving to be a challenge. While MBS, as the de facto ruler is known, has eased many social regulations, alcohol is still banned and extramarital relations and homosexuality remain punishable as ‘moral crimes.’ The severe rules and the prospect of a monotonous lifestyle in Riyadh often make expats reluctant to move. Meanwhile, experienced local employees are in short supply. That’s fueling a fight for talent and boosting salaries, bankers and headhunters say.

Recruiter Hays Plc estimates that most banking professionals in Saudi Arabia can earn roughly 20% more than their counterparts in Western financial centers. Those expat executives willing to relocate to the kingdom from neighboring Dubai can ask for 20% to 35% extra, according to headhunting firm Mark Williams. Senior hires are able to command even higher amount.