If you want to earn big bucks as a corporate banker, considering shifting to the United States.

According to research from efinancialcareers, bankers in the country are being paid the most, as compared to their counterparts in the rest of the world.

The report looked into what corporate bankers made in four major financial centres, the United States, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong across five levels of seniority, from junior and mid-level corporate bankers to managing directors (MD).

The data was collected from recent compensation surveys  by recruitment firms Hudson, Michael Page and Selby Jennings.

Bankers in the United States and the UK were found to receive the fattest checks among all five levels of seniority.

Junior and mid-level corporate bankers stated they earned an average of  US $80,000 a year, almost double the amount earned by respondents in Singapore.

“Talent shortages and demand for new clients have caused upward pressure on salaries for corporate banking relationship managers,” says Dean Stallard, regional director of recruiters Hays in Hong Kong.

“A premium must be paid to attract a regional manager (RM) so they will take the risk of moving current client relationships to a new platform.”

Hong Kong lay at the bottom for vice presidents and directors’, with respondents of each designation earning US$116,000 and US$181,000 respectively.

In comparison, vice presidents in the Unites States received an of average US$173,000 a year, while directors in the UK earned US$250,000 a year.

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The report added that while analysts and associates in Asia are paid a lot less than those in the US and UK, the gap narrowed when it came to vice presidents.

While salaries in US corporate banking remain lower than in investment banking, the percentage pay rises on offer for those who move firms can be up by as much as 20%.

This was what Oliver Hayes, principal consultant at recruitment firm Selby Jennings in New York, observed.

“In the US there’s a lot of pressure for salaries to be increased for RMs in corporate banking,” Hayes explained, adding that corporate bankers believe they work similar hours to those on the investment banking division side, and that their part in deals is essential.

“So they feel justified to request similarly high increases. Additionally, banks here are now very selective when hiring and base salaries have been creeping up to remain competitive,” he said.

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