Banking to be outpaced by fintechs in drawing talent

It’s in danger of becoming a “stepping stone” career.

Although Singapore is the third country in the world where banking is a popular career choice for business students, global trends show that graduate talent may soon opt for careers in the tech industry.

According to Deloitte’s report about talent in banking, the popularity of careers in software and computer services have risen by 4.1 percentage points (pp) between 2008 and 2015. In contrast, banking fell by 4.3 pp during the same period. At this rate, software and computer services will outpace banking in popularity by 2022.

“This year’s research shows business students rank careers in fast-moving consumer goods first (14.44%); banking second (14.41%) and software and computer services third (9.61%),” stated Deloitte.

Moreover, banks may be failing to attract students with digital skills needed for keeping pace with fintechs and industry entrants. The report found that relative to the business student average, banking-inclined students aspire the least for qualities like “innovation” and “a attractive/exciting products and services.”

More worrying is that banking may be on its way to becoming a “stepping stone” career—the report found that the top aspiration for banking-inclined students across the globe was “professional training and development.” Also, “good reference for future career” was in the top five, hinting that students may be aiming for careers outside the industry.

“In some countries, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, banking is a large and important industry and a source of export earnings,” said Ho Kok Yong, Deloitte’s Financial Services Industry Leader for Southeast Asia and Singapore.

He added that, international banks should tailor their recruitment strategies to local markets. “Increased need for global talent and mobility leads to resourcing models that attract and effectively source from alternative and diverse talent pools. International banks can learn from countries where banks are more popular employers.”