Compliance, risk and private markets roles top banking hiring demand for 2026: Morgan McKinley

[SINGAPORE] Banking hiring is set to “stay active but cautious” in 2026, with competition strongest for specialists in financial crime, regulatory reporting, risk and private-markets functions.

The increased demand is due to regulatory scrutiny and private-markets growth, as well as continued demand for financial crime, credit risks and digital-asset expertise, Morgan McKinley’s latest Singapore Salary Guide showed. 

Across 2024 to 2025, banking and financial services firms were found to favour candidates with “strong network, sector-specific expertise and language capabilities” for front-office roles, with a preference for “experienced professionals who can deliver immediate impact”.

Front-office positions with the highest hiring demand included senior private bankers, capital markets bankers, digital-asset professionals and quantitative traders.

Meanwhile, in-demand corporate infrastructure jobs in the sector included financial crime compliance, know-your-customer (KYC), anti-money laundering, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulatory reporting specialist roles, and operational risk managers.

Banking and financial services firms have also increased their reliance on contract roles to manage cost pressure, meet regulatory obligations and support cyclical demand. Compliance roles, including KYC and regulatory reporting analysts, particularly dominated contracting demand.

For risk and compliance roles, organisations now expect professionals to bring data and technology depth, given the expanding digital transformation and fintech activity. For such professionals, analytics, AI literacy, digital risk and vendor-risk oversight are becoming “baseline skills rather than differentiators”, Morgan McKinley said.

Credit risk specialists, non-financial regulatory compliance specialists, and digital risk, third-party compliance specialists were particularly in demand, it added.

“Controlled but selective” salary growth

Throughout the sector, salary growth is expected to be “controlled but selective”.

In particular, niche or high-impact roles such as MAS regulatory reporting, digital assets, financial crime and fund finance can expect salary increases of 3 to 6 per cent for 2026.

Contractors working for banks may see similar or slightly reduced salaries, as banks continue to manage tight budgets. However, investment firms are offering 20 to 25 per cent salary uplifts to attract specialist contractors in governance, finance and operations.

Ken Ong, managing director of Morgan McKinley Singapore, said success in 2026 will “hinge on how effectively organisations use talent as a strategic differentiator”.

“That means prioritising skills over credentials, combining permanent and flexible workforce models, and investing meaningfully in upskilling,” he added. “Singapore’s future competitiveness will depend not only on innovation, but on the people who drive it.”