Risk professionals set to see a 5% increase in salary in 2018

• Quantitative and market risk professionals saw 10% salary increases
• Within insurance, junior and mid-level professionals will enjoy significant pay rises

Hiring in banking and financial services grew steadily throughout 2017 as continued growth in the Irish economy and renewed investment in risk management teams led to a rise in job vacancies.

Risk specialists were sought to fill both permanent and contract positions across all levels in operational, credit and market risk, resulting in a 5% average salary increase. Professionals in quantitative and market risk sectors saw the highest increase at 10% on average, while pay for treasury and asset management professionals increased by 5% on average.

Brendan Simeson, Manager – Banking & Insurance comments:

“Risk management professionals continue to benefit from regulatory driven hiring where firms have increased their hiring budgets in order to keep up with evolving regulations and best practice guidance.“

“Risk departments within financial services firms have undergone large scale transformations in the past few years and have now started implementing advanced analytics to satisfy customer expectations and to meet tougher regulatory requirements. This has lead to a stronger demand for technical expertise in risk, benefitting professionals who combine a strong numerical background with a firm understanding of the applicable regulations.”

JUNIOR AND MID LEVEL PROFESSIONALS SEE STRONG SALARY GROWTH WITHIN INSURANCE

In insurance, professionals with internal controls, operational risk and solvency II experience were highly sought after. Salaries remained largely stable at the senior end of the market with claims handlers and senior underwriters seeing a 13% and 4% increase respectively, while junior and mid-level professionals with highly sought-after skills could expect significant pay rises during the year.

Brendan Simeson continues:

“Managing risk has become a top priority in the insurance industry. Evolving internal capital models to ensure sound risk management and more productive dialogue between supervisors and firms is a noticeable trend across the industry.”

“There has been a particularly strong appetite for qualified accountants who have worked with the Solvency Capital Requirements (SCR) and risk management frameworks. Similarly, there is continued demand for risk professionals from an actuarial background who own and understand the capital side of the business.”

To find out what you are worth, request a copy of our latest European Salary survey here.