German Banks Raise Regulatory Reporting Wages Significantly

(Bloomberg) -- (Machine translation provided by Google and reviewed by Bloomberg editors.)

Many banks in Germany are desperately looking for employees for regulatory reporting. As a result, salaries in this area have risen significantly, according to a new study by Bad Nauheim based headhunter Banking Consult, which is available exclusively to Bloomberg News.

The study finds that banks in Germany pay a regulatory reporting employee in the rank of manager or vice president with four to seven years of professional experience this year up to 10,000 euros more base salary than in 2015, assuming comparable positions. The increase is due to the acute shortage of skilled workers and the increasing complexity of tasks.

“Since the 2008 financial crisis, banks have been facing increased regulatory requirements in regulatory reporting,” Thore Behrens, vice president at Banking Consult, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. "Initial monthly or quarterly reports have turned into weekly requests from the authorities, which has resulted in a significant increase in the regulatory reporting workload."

In view of the rapidly increasing amounts of data, employees with an IT background and automation skills are especially in demand - not only by the banks themselves, but also by auditors and management consultants. For 2018, the study identifies the following average salary levels:

• Officers with as much as three years of professional experience earn on average a fixed salary of around 55,000 euros plus a bonus of up to 7,000 euros
• Specialists with as much as five years experience earn a fixed salary of between 60,000 euros and 70,000 euros plus a bonus between 5,000 and 13,000 euros
• Managers with 5 years experience or more earn a fixed salary of between 80,000 and 105,000 euros plus a bonus of more than 20,000 euros

The exact amount of base salary depends, among other things, on where someone works. “Overall, banks pay the best in regulatory reporting,” Behrens said. The fixed salaries of large auditors and consulting firms, which specialize in risk and regulatory reporting, are by 6,000 to 10,000 euros lower, but this is partly compensated by bonuses.

The findings of the study are consistent with statements by Germany’s largest banks. “Reporting obligations to regulators have increased since the financial crisis. As a result, the number of employees dealing with these reports has grown,” a spokesman for Deutsche Bank AG said when contacted by Bloomberg News. Commerzbank AG also explicitly mentioned the increased costs for regulatory projects and compliance in its 2017 annual report.

Behrens also pointed to the high supply of attractive jobs at both financial service providers and consulting firms. "Candidates are often spoiled for choice," he said.

The study is based on 83 salaries paid in 2018 in Germany, which were obtained from the work of the headhunter, as well as discussions with its customers and candidates.

Original Story:
Deutsche Banken erhöhen Gehälter bei Aufsichts-Jobs laut Studie

To contact the translators on this story: Stephan Kahl in New York at skahl@bloomberg.net, Rita Hagedorn in Frankfurt at rhagedorn@bloomberg.net.

To contact the translation editor responsible for this story: Stephan Kahl at skahl@bloomberg.net.

Reporter on the original story: Stephan Kahl in New York at skahl@bloomberg.net.

Editors responsible for the original story: Erhard Krasny at ekrasny@bloomberg.net, Stephan Kahl

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.