According to Hays, the leading recruiting expert, there has been a “strong demand” over the last couple of quarters for compliance candidates covering financial crime, risk and anti-money laundering.

This is mainly due to extra governance requirements by Bank Negara Malaysia and regulatory bodies elsewhere.

Hays said the need to comply with a raft of new regulations was a key driver shaping hiring trends in the local banking and financial services sector this quarter, according to a report in The Star.

Hays said regulators were also tightening Foreign Exchange Administration policies for banks. This is creating more jobs and roles for staff to help fortify the bank’s defences.

More internal audit jobs are opening up at banking institutions.

Banks are also looking for candidates experienced in credit risk modelling and model validation and Basel-related skill sets, according to the latest Hays Quarterly Report.

Other factors influencing recruitment by banks and financial institutions include new revenue initiatives and trends such as a greater reliance on data and analytics.

Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne was quoted by The Star as saying: “Malaysia’s banking and financial services sector is going through a very dynamic phase.

“This is always a busy quarter as many candidates scout for new opportunities post-bonus and employers create backfill vacancies, but the current increase in recruitment activity goes deeper than seasonal staff turnover.”

He said Hays had also noted hiring demand for relationship managers and credit analysts in the banking sector.

Banks are also diversifying their investment portfolios, by, for example, going into construction and property sectors.

“All this activity means candidates with well-developed stakeholder management skills and experience in project management and process improvement remain in high demand across the financial services industry too,” Osborne was quoted as saying.