Bankers Demand 50% Pay Hikes in India’s Wealth Hiring Boom (1)

Signing bonuses, stock options, hefty commissions and even the doubling of salaries — that’s what seasoned private bankers, and in some cases less experienced ones, are demanding in India as the fight for talent intensifies.

A surge in the newly wealthy population and the fragmentation of advisers into dozens of competing outfits have turbocharged demand, pushing compensation to record highs.

Experienced relationship managers are landing salary hikes of as much as 40%, while newer wealth management firms are offering bankers 50% or more of the revenue they generate, said Prateek Gupta, associate director, talent solutions for India, at consultancy Aon. ...