Salary survey: Revving up in risk

27 June 2007

2 minute read

Pay for risk managers rose an average 15% last year; directors in market risk can now earn nearly 235k.

Market risk is the most lucrative piece of the risk pie, followed by quantitative analytics (225k for directors), and credit risk (210k for directors). Despite Basel II, terrorist threats, and the occasional fat finger trading loss, operational risk specialists come in a poor fourth (164k for directors).

Pay has the potential to rise further: 74% of the 630 respondents to the survey, which was undertaken by recruitment firm PSD Group, said they planned to hire more risk professionals this year, with only 1.4% planning to make redundancies.

Gail Connolly, managing consultant at PSD Group, says it's becoming increasingly common for risk professionals to earn bonuses equivalent to 100% or more of salary.

But she also says risk professionals often have inflated views of their own worth: "There are lots of unfounded rumours flying around the market. We've had cases where people have claimed colleagues have moved for a 25% increase, when we know they only moved for 10%. Expectations are increasingly unrealistic."

Risk management pay 2007

Director market risk - basic 119k; bonus 115k

VP market risk - basic 87k; bonus 38k

Associate market risk - basic 60k; bonus 23k

Director credit risk - basic 117k; bonus 93k

VP credit risk - basic 83k; bonus 62k

Associate credit risk - basic 55k; bonus 19k

Director operational risk - basic 107k; bonus 57k

VP operational risk - basic 83k; bonus 35k

Associate operational risk - basic 54k; bonus 26k

· Source: PSD Group

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

ed
edward bell
24 July 2008
Totally agree with Sami.
You have to compare apples with apples . It is quite hard to trust these surveys as do they really know a corporate structure and how each role equates to title in different companies.
If you wish to rely at all on any of these surveys use the ones that go on time in the industry as wella s role as they will hvae slightly more relevance. I am a head hunter in risk just in case you are wondering
Edward bell
Credit and risk people
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Sa
Sami
3 July 2007
The figures above are highly exaggerated and the levels are generalised. Most banks have their own level structures and salary brackets and this is related to recruitment budgets. E.g Credit Suisse Director level equals to UBS Executive Director level etc, so sometime people with good skills would go to interviews and miss out on the opportunity because they would demand astronomical and unsubstantiated salaries because they heard or read somewhere that that's what they should be earning.
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jj
jj
3 July 2007
far too highly paid for what they do. majority are deadwood but the small minority of v.good are indeed just that - small minority and v.good.
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an
anon
2 July 2007
dude - especially as numbers above are probably bloated from being from a HH.
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ru
russ
29 June 2007
Couldn't agree more with anon...that's why I want to move to FO...
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