HSBC Asia to cut back on internal expat relocations

Expats working in the banking sector are unlikely to get Asian jobs via HSBC.

As the mega-banking and investment corporation turns its gaze to Asian expansion, those expats already in the financial sector shouldn’t see this as a career enhancement strategy as relocations are expected to be rare. Upcoming HSBC job cuts of around 35,000 employees are expected to concentrate on Western hubs, making relocation to either Singapore or Hong Kong an attractive but unlikely prospect. The on-the-ground reality is that very few expatriations are now taking place, needing senior approval and rarely getting it due to cost-saving measures adopted in an attempt to minimise the effect of the pandemic.

According to headhunters in the sector, there are enough senior executive- level staff already in Asia to guide the bank in these difficult times, and its strong talent development programme is also well placed to shift promising staff into top jobs on the Chinese mainland. Another issue for top talent wishing to expatriate via the bank is the need to be able to speak Mandarin, a skill relatively rare in London’s investment banker community. It’s anticipated some 500 more staff will be required in Asia by 2022, but would-be expats will be hampered by their lack of regional clients.

In general, all remaining Hong Kong banking sector employers are cutting back on new expat employees, meaning that supply is now exceeding demand even although demand itself has lessened due to China’s new law. Worse still, China is determined to integrate the Hong Kong banking system into their mainland wealth-connect project connecting all the Greater Bay Area cities, thus making internal transfers within the giant bank even more tricky to justify and arrange in the long term.