Sydney bankers' salaries to be cut

Across Australia, permanent salaries in banking and financial services are expected to grow by 0.65 per cent in 2015 from 2014 levels.

Brisbane will see the highest rate of growth, at 4.8 per cent, while Sydney is set to see the lowest rate, with a decrease of 2.8 per cent.

Professionals in banking and financial services will increasingly move roles this year, creating the need for replacement hires, according to the survey.

The 2015 Global Salary Survey from specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters found that in addition to candidate confidence rising moderately in 2015, a somewhat improved economy will mean finance functions will begin to grow again.

Regulatory changes will also continue to have knock-on effects across the finance space, the survey found.

Robert Walters' banking and financial services director, Andrew Hanson, said that in 2014 salaries for senior level roles also decreased slightly since employers were able to hire staff with significant experience who had taken redundancy or resigned from their previous role.

“Despite the high calibre of these applicants, this placed downward pressure on salaries,” Mr Hanson said.

“We expect that if there are increases, most salaries will only increase in line with inflation in 2015 and contract rates should remain in line with 2014 levels,” he said.

The Robert Walters Global Salary Survey is based on the analysis of permanent, interim and contract placements covering all 24 countries in which Robert Walters operates. The sixteenth edition offers an overview of salaries and recruitment trends from 2014, as well as those expected in 2015.