The Islamic Bank of Asia is tackling a talent shortage as its recruitment rate rises. Chief executive Vince Cook tells us: “It is recognised that the current supply of intellectual talent, such as financially trained Sharia scholars, is inadequate for the needs of an industry that is growing at 20-30% per annum.”

But that’s not holding back hiring at the one-year-old Singaporean bank, whose headcount won’t stay at 55 for too much longer. Cook explains: “We are keen to build our resources in areas we see as having the greatest potential – principally Sharia-compliant private banking, asset management, corporate and investment banking – whether in client management or product development and sales.”

The fledging firm has also opened an office in Bahrain in an effort to bridge Asia and the Middle East, Islamic finance’s two strongest regions. “We will double our recruitment efforts to meet our business expansion needs both in Asia and the Gulf,” Cook adds.

IB Asia began building its headcount in 2007 by tapping into the talent of parent company DBS. Cook comments: “We also recruited people with Islamic banking experience from around Southeast Asia, notably Malaysia, for client-facing positions, and have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people – including Singaporeans working in Malaysia – that are keen to join us.”

Andrew Price, a director at Global Search Partners, says the supply of Islamic finance professionals in Singapore is limited, especially for front-office roles where specific Islamic product knowledge is more essential than for operational jobs.

Firms including JPMorgan, HSBC, OCBC and Maybank, have small Islamic finance teams in Singapore. Just don’t expect the Lion City to be generating jobs on the same scale as Kuala Lumpur. “Singapore may become a corporate and institutional hub in the future, but Malaysia’s much larger Muslim population means Islamic finance in KL is on a bigger scale, especially in retail banking,” adds Price.