Risk professionals in high demand in UAE banks

Demand for risk professionals in UAE banks has gone up by double-digits this year, according to experts in the recruitment industry.

"There has been a 28-per cent increase in risk vacancies registered by Huxley Associates in 2011 compared with 2010,” Keon Jamshidi, Huxley Associate's in-house risk expert told 'Emirates24|7'.

According to Barclay Simpson, a recruiter of risk professionals, risk management maintains high profile and the demand for risk professionals had gone down during the crisis of 2009 but is up again. 

“Risk management recruitment was not immune from the effects of the global economic downturn and during 2009 there was a significant decline in the demand for risk managers across the financial services sector. During 2010, however, confidence has been returning across the sector as financial constraints have been alleviated. Once again risk management is raising its profile,” reads the website of Barclay Simpson. 

Fearing bad debt, banks in the region are gearing up to minimise the risk.  

“Many banks have moved to strengthen their counterparty credit risk frameworks to mitigate the increasing threat of provisions for bad debt. Many hires have therefore been made in this area during 2011 by regional banks. Liquidity risk has been another growth area for regional banks in 2011 while the upward trend in recent years for market risk professionals in the region has slowed somewhat, not surprising given that many banks are reducing their treasury exposure to global markets. Candidates proficient in Basel II pillar two continue to be in high demand,” explained Jamshidi.  

As per Barclay Simpson, “risk is now high on the corporate agenda as many financial services institutions are looking to develop their risk management capability, not only to better protect themselves but also to maximise profitability. Risk recruitment activity is gathering pace, particularly at leadership level, where commercially 

minded chief risk officers and heads of risk, with the ability to integrate risk into the business and genuinely add value, are sought after. The traditional areas of credit, market and operational risk have had a rise in fortunes across all areas of financial services and we would expect this to continue for the foreseeable future.”  

Going into the New Year, the demand for such professionals is expected to rise. “In 2012 we expect risk vacancies to grow even further in the areas mentioned above alongside increased recruitment  in niche areas such as business continuity planning and disaster recovery,” said the Huxley expert. 

Shane Phillips, MENA Regional Practice Leader, Financial and  Professional Services at Stanton Chase is upbeat about the growth of risk professionals in the region and world over. 

“[Globally] we are seeing a 400 per cent increase in demand for risk professionals. I find it interesting that the first CRO was only hired in 1993 by GE Capital and his name is James Lam. Today 80 per cent of financial services companies have a CRO,” he said.

“[Our] job statistics show that in the Middle East and North Africa, there has been a steady increase in demand for risk management professionals in the past five years. To speak more specifically, there was a 115 per cent increase in risk management jobs in 2008, as compared with 2007. The trend continued in the years that followed, reflected by a 127 per cent in 2009, as compared to 2008, and a 136 per cent increase in 2010, as compared with 2009. Thus, there was a 270 per cent from 2007 to 2010. Based on this pattern, we believe that the demand for risk management experience will continue to increase. As for salaries, the average salary for a professional in the UAE with risk management in his or her title is about Dh33,012. Of course, the margin differs based on role and years of experience,” said Amer Zureikat, VP Sales, Bayt.com.

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