A mass exodus of banking talent to Asia probably won’t materialise but more people are moving East, according to Mark Cameron, chief operating officer at financial services staffing specialist Astbury Marsden.

This week a survey from executive search firm Sheffield Haworth revealed 37% of external hires for roles in financial services in the Middle East and North Africa were staff moving from London or the US last year, while 31% of Asia Pacific hires were from either London or the US.

And only last month a report from financial services recruiter Astbury Marsden showed 27% of respondents chose Singapore as their most favoured location, while 22% chose London, 20% Hong Kong, 19% New York and 13% Dubai.

Speaking ahead of today’s Budget, Cameron told Recruiter: “There probably won’t be an exodus of people moving en masse to Asia but we are moving far more people than we ever used to to those areas.

“If you consider why people are moving, there are more career opportunities — it’s a less mature market. Equally, it’s quite compelling from a tax perspective to be going somewhere rents may be a little higher but you’re paying for the most part 30-40% less tax.

“The majority of people we are moving are single but we do regularly move people who take families with them. It’s a great lifestyle for an expat but it’s not an easy one.

“There are a lot of people approaching us to go out there. Over the last couple of years, a lot of the funky expat packages with housing allowances and all sorts of things thrown in have changed. The employers aren’t spoilt for choice but what it takes to move people has changed.

“Hong Kong and Singapore are both fantastic cities to live in. While your life may be different out there, I don’t think you need to be compensated as aggressively — some of that is also compensated for by the dramatic tax difference.

“It would be wonderful to see the chancellor take action on the top rate of tax but realistically he won’t get any credit for doing that so I can’t see that happening. I think this year’s Budget will be pretty vanilla.”

Dave Way, managing director of accountancy and finance recruiter Marks Sattin, adds: “The budget marks a crucial point in the UK’s austerity drive, but fears that it will see a mass exodus of financial services talent are overblown.

“Although financial services workers are among the most mobile in the UK’s labour force, their reasons for staying or leaving are always far more complex than seeking simply to maximise the money in their pocket. If the tax system were the primary driver of where people want to work, the UAE and British Virgin Islands – which both levy 0% income tax – would be teeming with British jobseekers.

“While money is of course important, family connections, children’s schooling, friends, spouse’s career, prospects for promotion and the high profile of Western financial centres all encourage business and people to stay in the UK.

“What will determine whether or not the UK remains a global financial centre in the long term will be economic stability and the regulatory environment. The austerity package will be tough to swallow, but most financial services workers will prefer doing so to chasing slightly larger pots of gold elsewhere.”