...this isn't really a particularly surprising headline, although it could serve to perpetuate the belief that everyone in Financial Services is only out for the money - not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

The FS sector in Asia and LatAm is understandably seeing huge amounts of growth as consumers (both commercial and personal) gain wealth and liquidity (and from an insurance perspective a better understanding of risk). To adequately respond to this opportunity (locally), institutions have to make roles as enticing as possible to attract talent, and often they use financial incentives as the solution.

There are three key criteria to consider when making a decision about a position (either with an existing employer or a new one):

  1. Company
  2. Role
  3. Money

I would argue that if you can get two of these absolutely spot on, then you can be flexible with the third. 

In the insurance sector hubs like London, Zurich, and New York offer exceptional career prospects with first rate institutions. As such one often sees people willing to compromise a little on remuneration (although certainly salaries and total comp are very good in all three cities).

Without wishing to cast aspersions on less established insurance markets, the only real way to compete for the best (global) talent is to ensure point 3 is exceptional.