Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014
Dubai: Bankers are known to pocket fat bonuses, but a high proportion of the Middle East’s financial services workers are showing a strong discontent, with nearly half of them saying their recent payouts failed to meet their expectations.
A new research released on Wednesday showed that despite the rebound in the banking sector, 45 per cent of the financial professionals working in the region expressed disappointment over the amount of their annual bonuses. Only 9 per cent said their bonuses exceeded expectations.
When compared with the other markets around the world, the region has the highest percentage of disappointed professionals. However, the region also has one of the highest proportions of workers (50 per cent) who received a bonus increase.
“People’s expectations in the Middle East haven’t been met within the finance sector and this is largely due to the overall sentiment being high, economic recovering, international and foreign investment returning, UAE and Qatar now recognised as emerging markets,” James Randall, sales manager, Middle East, at eFinancialCareers (eFC), told Gulf News.
Financial firms are known to be generous with their employee handouts. According to a research by campaign group the Robin Hood Tax campaign, around £67 billion in bonuses have been paid out to finance staff in the UK since 2008.
Based on the figures collated by eFC, however, it would appear that finance professionals in the Middle East are not getting as much as their peers in other markets. Annual bonuses across the region average around $22,700 (Dh83,000), compared to $89,000 in London, $72,000 in the United States and $32,600 in Hong Kong.
Within the region, finance professionals in Saudi Arabia enjoy the highest bonus, averaging at $32,100. Bankers in Qatar are second on the list, with annual payouts amounting to $21,900 on average, while those in UAE normally get $20,000 and Kuwait, $11,300.
Randall, however, said their findings reflect a short-term view and many companies in the region, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, are now correcting their balance sheets. The bonus survey was conducted in the Gulf in March 2014, with 532 financial professionals working in the UAE taking part.
James Bennett, global managing director of eFinancialCareers, said that remuneration is a “very important and motivating incentive” for employees in financial services. “This puts an onus on employers to manage expectations and be transparent with staff about the level of performance required for a satisfactory bonus.”
By Cleofe Maceda Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
