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US Compliance & Financial Crime Market Trends Influencing Compensation & Hiring

Hiring activity is now seeing a significant uplift on the previous year. We are seeing an extremely active and fast-moving market across the whole of the US. All our client firms have shaken off any inertia from 2020 and are racing to secure the best talent in a very active market.

Whist this environment sees hiring managers competing with multiple firms for top talent in most hiring processes, candidates are also seeing high levels of competition from their peers when interviewing, as the industry in general is open to opportunity right now.   

While Financial Services Compliance hiring is active across the board, we are seeing demand for strong talent on the buy side and in the general FinTech space.  Financial Crimes Compliance is also seeing a surge of activity with demand for strong talent across sectors. 

Another common trend across the US is compliance personnel wanting to move into a more “developing” or emerging part of the market, away from traditional banking.  Most popular seems to be any firm that focuses on the ESG / Sustainability space.  This sector is also in growth, so is presenting opportunity for talent to make that move away from the more traditional parts of the industry.  

“Return to the office” is a major discussion point generally, but particularly as part of interview processes.  While many firms are realizing that remote or flexible working can be a long-term solution, others are planning a pre-Covid office working situation to be implemented as soon as possible. 

With the levels of hiring happening across the industry, decisions on this subject are being slightly forced, as new employees will need to know their obligations before joining a firm.  In fact, a firm’s “return to the office” policy can be a deal breaker when trying to land new talent.  

From a workforce perspective, the attitude towards working from home seems to be split.  Some people want to be back in a collaborative office environment, while others are eager to retain remote working flexibility and not to return at all to big city office working situations.  

How the industry navigates “return to the office” will continue to play out over the coming months but our guess is that most firms will retain some form of flexible working arrangement for employees, but 100% work from home arrangements will diminish over time.  

For more information on the market or you would like a copy of our latest salary benchmark reports, please reach out to the US Danos Associates team:

Grant Potter | Partner, Head of Americas
Tel: +(1) 212 600 4827 | Email: gpotter@danosassociates.com

Jared Weber | Senior Associate
Tel: +(1) 212 600 4834 | Email: jweber@danosassociates.com

Jolene Lally | Associate, Compliance Consultant
Tel: +(1) 212 600 4903 | Email: jlally@danosassociates.com