Saudi Arabia may not sound like the most enticing place for expats, but it’s attracting increasing numbers of them to its growing banking sector.
Headhunters report gargantuan growth in Saudi finance jobs. Given banks’ interest in the kingdom, this is hardly surprising. Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, HSBC and BNP Paribas are already there. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have teamed up with local Saudi Bank in the past three months, and UBS and Citigroup are interested in establishing (or re-establishing) a Saudi footprint, according the Financial Times.
“There is a great, great deal of recruiting going on in Saudi Arabia at the present time,” says Michael Ketley of recruiting firm MRK-Consulting.
It’s all happening rather quietly, however. Headhunters say Saudi Arabia doesn’t benefit from the PR Dubai has generated for itself. “Expats don’t think they will get the niceties of life over there,” says Emma Hackforth of recruitment firm Matchsticks.
But Ketley adds that many people who have worked in Saudi Arabia before are keen to return to take advantage of the cheaper living costs and longer holidays.
A mid-ranking banking professional with about six to eight years' experience could expect from US$125k with two to three months' bonus, to US$160k with six months' bonus working in Riyadh, he claims.
This is definitely lower than what’s on offer in Dubai, London or New York, but living costs in Saudi are lower. And as the sector grows, it’s fair to expect that Saudi employers will adjust pay upwards as they compete for the best candidates.
