Canadian banks increased their average pay per worker 6.3% in fiscal 2021, more than twice the average boost in the previous three years, as inflation and competition make it costlier to attract and retain talent.
The gain was driven largely by last year’s 18% increase in bonuses as financial firms rewarded investment bankers and traders who had posted two straight years of strong results.
With those workers in especially high demand, banks are opening their wallets to keep top talent from jumping to rival firms.
Among the country’s largest lenders, National Bank of Canada (NA) had the biggest pay-per-worker increase. Canada’s six largest banks added a combined 1,800 workers last year, a 0.5% gain, after their workforces shrank by 11,554 people, or 3%, in 2020.
And while paying investment bankers to stick around was a dominant theme last year, the hunt for technology workers is shaping up to be a major trend for 2022. Last week, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) announced plans to hire more than 2,000 technology workers, more than six times the number it added last year.
