Asian financial services professionals are generally happy with their latest bonuses, but remain cautious about moving firms in the wake of pocketing their payments.

According to a new survey from search firm Morgan McKinley, 87% of Singaporean respondents received a similar (48%) or higher (39%) bonus than the previous year. More than three quarters were satisfied with their bonus. The figures for Hong Kong are almost identical.

The report suggests that the credit crunch had little impact on the recent Asian bonuses, typically paid in February and March, says Jeremy Canning, country head at Morgan McKinley Singapore.

But Canning believes that market uncertainty will reduce post-bonus staff turnover in banks. “Despite the fact that Asia is comparatively isolated from global turmoil, people are being more cautious about moving jobs. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. They will think harder about finding the right role, rather than flipping between jobs just to get a pay rise.”

No guarantees for next year

Bankers will probably have to wait until at least the third quarter of this year before trying to second-guess how big their next bonus will be, says Dennis Koh, managing partner of recruitment firm Goshen Staines Singapore.

The Morgan McKinley survey was carried out in March, with responses from 279 financial services professionals in Singapore and 202 in Hong Kong.

The positive news on bonuses comes as figures from Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) estimate that service industries grew by 7.6% in the first quarter of 2008, similar to the 7.7% achieved in the previous quarter. Financial services continued to be the fastest growing industry in the service sector, according to the MTI.