Private banks are modifying their pay structures to try and tie people in.

The managing director of Bank Pictet & Cie (Asia), Jean-Claude Erne, says that as the pool of qualified private bankers is small and it’s tough to train them quickly in-house, private banks are dishing out higher pay, and tying people in with restricted stock and options that vest over two to three years,

“Across the Singapore market, wages have gone up by 30% over the last two years,” says Erne. “Banks are trying to lock in some people with relatively complex wages arrangements…. But in such a dry market, another bank would buy back those benefits, and so again, this makes wages go up sharply.”

Erne doesn’t rule out the possibility of hiring from other banks – just like any other bank. Still, this merry-go-round of poaching a competitor’s staff is terribly unhealthy, he admits.

“Our relationship managers may have friends who’re interested in joining. We have to find all ways to recruit talent…. It’s a matter of finding the right person at the right time.”

In searching for suitable candidates, he is open to recruiting them from any country, provided they have the “high seniority level” to cater to some of Bank Pictet’s ultra high-net-worth clients, whose investible assets are at least US$100m.

“We’re not going to compromise on quality; if we have to wait, we’ll be patient,” he says.