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Banking & financial services hiring trends in Belgium

The Robert Walters Global Salary Survey for 2017 contains recruitment market updates, hiring advice and benchmarks salaries across our global markets.

Here we discuss the outlook for the banking & financial services market in Belgium.

New jobs to support further digitalisation

Despite lay-offs being announced in the banking sector, professionals with audit, risk analysis, compliance and digitalisation skills were highly sought after. In 2016, we saw many Belgian and foreign family offices and holdings opting to manage part of their capital in-house, leading to increased demand for equity and private equity investment specialists.

Digitalisation projects, regulatory constraints and improving the cost-to-income share also drove demand for banking and financial services professionals across a range of fields. Auditors, risk managers and compliance officers were in high demand and we expect this trend to continue in 2017.

Tech and IT specialists will be required to provide expertise for digitalisation projects, resulting in higher salaries for professionals in this field.

As financial institutions overhauled and reviewed internal processes and business models in 2016, some lay-offs for permanent employees were announced and numerous local agencies are expected to close in 2017. However, the focus on digitalisation created opportunities for IT security officers, digital managers and all round mobile banking specialists, and we expect this trend to continue in 2017.

Outlook for 2017

Risk and compliance professionals will remain highly sought after, alongside audit, controlling and investment specialists, to provide strategic insights to help support business growth. Tech and IT specialists will be required to provide expertise for digitalisation projects, resulting in higher salaries for professionals in this field.

To secure top talent in 2017, we advise hiring managers to look beyond salary, and to highlight long-term career development and progression.