TOKYO: Yamaguchi Financial Group Inc, a regional lender headquartered on the western tip of Japan’s biggest island, is considering paying new hires with securities market expertise around the same compensation as employees at the nation’s largest banks.
Competition among financial institutions to hire bond traders and other specialists is intensifying as the Bank of Japan nudges interest rates higher, which is increasing trading volatility and opportunities for market professionals.
Salaries offered for bond and foreign exchange trader and sales jobs at the biggest Japanese banks top out around 13 million yen on recruitment websites including doda and Kotora.
“We don’t want compensation to be an obstacle” in trying to hire market specialists, Keisuke Mukunashi, the bank’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.
“We’re ready to pay compensation comparable with that of Japan’s biggest banks,” he said.
Japan’s local banks are seeking revenue from securities investment as a shrinking and ageing population weighs on business opportunities in their regions. But a dearth of expert market players at the banks raises the risk of investment losses.
The nation’s banking sector has seen investment fiascoes at a couple of firms this year. Aozora Bank Ltd booked its first loss in 15 years when it lost money on foreign bonds and soured US office property loans. — Bloomberg