The survey found nearly nine in 10 (89%) financial services executives surveyed globally found it either 'challenging' or 'very challenging' to find skilled financial services professionals.
It also showed globally 83% of institutions are 'concerned' about losing top performers to other opportunities.
Neil Owen, global practice director, Robert Half Financial Services, said: "While some areas within financial services institutions have seen cutbacks, other more profitable product lines are receiving further investment which has resulted in additional hiring since the beginning of the year.
"This is creating challenges in finding the requisite staff to capitalise on emerging opportunities. Competition for the industry's top talent continues to intensify for middle-office and support roles, particularly accounting and finance, as well as operations positions."
The survey found the greatest worries globally appear to be in Hong Kong and Singapore, where 93% and 92% of respondents respectively cited concerns about losing valued employees. In each of the seven countries surveyed, at least 76% of respondents expressed some level of concern.
Owen added: "Combined with an improving job market for financial services professionals in specialised roles, the growing need for regulatory expertise and the substantial operational changes taking place in the sector will likely exacerbate current retention challenges.
"Employers will need to enhance their efforts, including offering salary increases and progressive perks, to keep their most valued employees."
