1. Forced Compensation:
Attracting new talent and
retaining experience
Top Ten Challenges for
Investment Banks 2015
03
ForcedCompensation:
Attractingnewtalentand
retainingexperience

2. 03
Forced Compensation: Attracting
new talent and retaining experience
A convergence of high regulatory and public scrutiny,
reputational damage and increasing pressure on operating
costs presents investment banks with a significant challenge
to retain the best people in their organisation. Addressing
this challenge calls for significant changes to human capital
programs and the re-organisation of operating models. It
also requires banks to think more innovatively about overall
incentives if they are to acquire and retain the top talent.
Converging to the average
Since the financial crisis a swathe of
regulation has been introduced aimed at
reducing and controlling the financial
rewards available to employees in the
banking industry. Europe is leading the
way, implementing a bonus cap as part of
CRD IV regulation that limits bonuses to
the level of fixed compensation. In addition
to the bonus cap, a number of rules have
been put forward by, among others, the
Financial Stability Board (FSB), the UK
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the
Bank of England and the Committee of
European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), to
better align compensation practices with
the long-term profitability of institutions.
These guidelines are at least partly
attributable to public outrage at the
perceived largesse of the industry since
the financial crisis.
The overall impact of these measures is
being felt: since 2008, the average starting
package for MBA graduates in finance or
investment banking has been converging to
the average for other industries (see Fig.1).
2

3. The emergence of competition
At the same time, investment banks are
facing increasing competition, not only
from the buy-side but from a budding
technology sector, touted by many as the
“go-to” industry for the best and brightest.
Figure 3 illustrates the increasing diversity
of career interests among graduates of the
top business schools. Technology giants
such as Amazon and Google are continuing
to increase their graduate intake, as the
3
Figure 2: Staff costs as a % of operating expenditure
• Goldman Sachs
• Morgan Stanley
• JP Morgan
• Citi
• BarCap
• HSBC
• RBS
• UBS
• Credit Suisse
• Deutsche
• Santander
• AVERAGE
Source: Accenture
Research
Figure 1: Ratio of average starting package in Finance or an investment bank
to average salary in all industries
Source: Accenture Research, London Business School, Harvard Business School, INSEAD
• HBS - package in ib / package in All
industries
• LBS - package in Finance / package
in All industries
• INSEAD - package in ib / package in
All industries
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
140%
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Investment banks have responded with
measures to mitigate the impacts of these
new rules, for example by utilising
role-based “allowances” in addition to base
salaries. However, in the context of higher
amounts of equity-based remuneration
and the increasing presence of claw-back
provisions, regulation continues to force
change in compensation models.
Pressure on operating costs
Staff costs continue to represent
approximately 60% of operating
expenditure across the investment
banking industry, a figure broadly
unchanged since the financial crisis (see
Fig.2). As revenues, and RoE for
shareholders, continue to be suppressed
across core businesses, there is increased
pressure to reduce these costs.
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%

4. Optimise operating costs
Accenture has long argued that in order
to reduce fixed operating costs in a
sustainable way, banks must make bold
decisions about their operating model
and human capital programmes. While
most banks have made strategic
decisions about which markets and
services they wish to focus on, few have
yet been able to execute on this strategy.
As part of a clearly-defined strategy,
banks should look to outsource
entrenched areas of operational cost in
non-core areas, or in parts of the value
chain where processes are
commoditised and deliver no
differentiating value to the business –
for example in post-trade processing.
Banks should also explore the use of
lower-cost locations for staff: in the
UK, Deutsche Bank has recently moved
many of its smaller client service teams
out of London to Birmingham, while US
banks continue to build out their
presence in New Jersey.
Reducing operating costs allows
resources to be re-focused on areas
which deliver the most value for the
business, for example in specialised
areas of sales or research. These roles
are specialist, revenue-generating and
require the most highly-skilled people,
with compensation packages to match
if banks are to compete.
Learn from the competition…and
innovate like them
Banks must also examine their
workplace cultures and organisation
“trendy” industry image, created by a
perceived relaxed corporate culture,
amplifies the appeal of technology as a
career choice.
To address this challenge, investment
banks must re-examine their operating
models and make bold decisions, while
finding the right combination of both
financial and non-financial incentives to
ensure they continue to attract the best
talent to grow their businesses.
4
2010 2011 2012 2013
25
20
15
10
5
Source: London Business School • Tech, media telecoms • Investment Banking
Figure 3: Employment destination of London Business School MBA Graduates, (%)
60%
Staff costs continue to
represent approximately
of operating expenditure across
the investment banking industry

5. 5
structures, and in this respect they should
look to their new competitors.
“Googlization” is a neologism increasingly
used in discussions of workplace culture
to encapsulate a dynamic environment
supporting collaboration and ideas
generation. Other industries – including
investment banking – should strive to
emulate their horizontal organisation
structure, which fosters a more open and
collaborative culture.
Indeed, banks are increasingly recognising
the power of fintech firms as incubators
of talent. Banks are now supporting or
participating in programmes aimed at
seeking out the next generation, providing
seed funding and mentorship
opportunities for new start-ups, and
generally working much more aggressively
with third-party innovators to attract and
retain the best talent. The more they
participate in this space, the more ideas
and working practices are drawn, osmosis-
like, into their own organisations.
In an industry where attrition is low and
the prospect of reaching senior
management is deteriorating, banks will
also need to find additional, innovative
ways to incentivise ambitious employees.
For example, as large multinational
institutions, banks have the ability to
utilise their size and incentivise talent by
offering opportunities in faster-growing
markets, for example in Asia or Latin
America. Apprenticeship schemes, by
giving junior staff the experience of
working closely with senior members
of the business, also serve to flatten
the organisation structure and allow
high-performers to learn and advance
more quickly.
Banks also need to consider the type of
work undertaken by their more junior
staff. The best graduates will always
be motivated far more by challenging,
strategic tasks, but even where this is
not always possible, banks should
consider changes that make their
employees’ time more impactful. New
platforms are emerging, such as
Thinknum – which enables analyst
collaboration on cloud-based
financial models. This is one example
of how new ideas, supported by
innovations in technology, are
helping to change working practices
in the industry.
Ensuring competitive compensation
for employees is vital for banks to
attract and retain top talent. Yet with
regulation and cost pressures
weighing on potential future income
and the emergence of competing
sectors such as technology, banks
must explore bold solutions and find
more innovative ways to recruit and
retain the best and brightest people.
The more they participate
in this space, the more
ideas and working
practices are drawn,
osmosis-like, into their
own organisations.
Ensuring competitive
compensation for
employees is vital for
banks to attract and
retain top talent.

6. About Accenture
Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with more
than 305,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive
capabilities across all industries and
business functions, and extensive
research on the world’s most successful
companies, Accenture collaborates
with clients to help them become
high-performance businesses and
governments. The company generated
net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the
fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home
page is www.accenture.com.
Accenture Experts
To discuss any of the ideas presented in
this paper please contact:
Diane Nolan
Managing Director
Capital Markets, Brussels
diane.nolan@accenture.com
+32 2 2267 574
Michael Griffiths
Capital Markets
New York
michael.j.griffiths@accenture.com
+1 917 880 6354
Catherine Gutierrez
Capital Markets
New York
catherine.gutierrez@accenture.com
+1 917 452 5368
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