Need a raise: 1 in 2 banks to raise wages

They expect salaries to rise in the next 12 months by an average 6%.

According to the Financial Employment Report released by recruitment firm Robert Half, demand for skilled finance, accounting and banking professionals will remain strong in the last two quarters of 2012 as Singapore’s CFOs and senior business leaders express confidence in their organisation and Singapore’s prospects for the forthcoming year.

Here's more from Robert Half:

Banking and Financial Services sector

The Financial Employment Report found that 87 per cent of the senior business leaders in the Banking and Financial Services sector have confidence in Singapore’s economic outlook and 89 per cent have confidence in their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months.

Fifty per cent of companies are looking to hire permanent finance, accounting and banking operations staff in the second half of 2012, with a further 40 per cent maintaining current levels. Only 8 per cent are forecasting decreases.

For 56 per cent of companies making new hires, the key driver for hiring is business growth followed by rising workloads (25 per cent). Most of the hires during the second half of the year will be in Finance and Operations (41 per cent) followed closely by Risk and Compliance (both 38 per cent).

In the Banking and Financial Services sector, 53 per cent of leaders expect salaries to rise in the next 12 months. Those who are planning to increase salaries estimate that the increase will average 6 per cent. Half of business leaders (50 per cent) believe bonuses will also increase, by an average of 5.7 per cent.

Commerce and Industry sector

Chief Financial Officers and Finance Directors working in other industry sectors share the optimism of their colleagues in the banking and financial services sector with 81 per cent confident of Singapore’s economic outlook and 86 per cent confident in their company’s growth prospects in the next 12 months.

Of the CFOs and FDs surveyed, 41 per cent are looking to hire permanent finance and accounting staff, with a further 45 per cent maintaining current levels, and 9 per cent anticipating decreases. The top reason for hiring is to fuel business growth and expansion (48 per cent), ahead of rising workloads at 29 per cent.

54 per cent of CFOs and FDs anticipate salaries to rise in the next 12 months, by an average 7.5 per cent. Among the 31 per cent of CFOs and FDs who plan to increase bonuses, the average increase is expected to be 8.8 per cent.

The Financial Employment Report is based on a survey of more than 300 of Singapore’s top business and finance leaders about their outlook for the S half of 2012.