Salary & benchmarking

The Changing Role of Salary Transparency in Financial Services

February 2, 2026

Salary transparency in financial services

As hiring shifts in 2026, transparent pay isn’t just a “nice to have” – it’s becoming a strategic advantage for organisations and candidates alike.

Salary transparency used to be a buzz topic, something HR teams talked about in theory, often tied to diversity and fairness goals. But today it’s a market reality with real implications for how financial services firms attract talent and how candidates engage with opportunities.

Here’s why the role of salary transparency is evolving and what that means for recruitment across financial services.

Salary disclosure levels are uneven and still matter
Why “no salary range” sends the wrong signal
Market forces are nudging employers toward transparency
A more human approach to pay transparency
Linking salary transparency to wider talent strategy

Salary disclosure levels are uneven and still matter

Recent analysis of nearly 2.8 million UK job ads shows that about one in four postings still doesn’t include a salary range.

This isn’t evenly spread across the market:

Director and senior roles are less than half as likely to disclose pay compared with frontline roles.
Sectors with high-volume hiring tend to be more transparent.
UK job ads overall are among the most likely in Europe to include salary details, but the finance and tech sectors lag behind others.

So even as transparency grows at a broad level, financial services remain arguably inconsistent – especially at higher levels where negotiation, discretion and candidate sensitivity tend to dominate.

Why “no salary range” sends the wrong signal

On paper, omitting salary ranges can feel strategic – preserving negotiating flexibility or shielding internal banding structures. In practice, candidates increasingly read it differently.

For many professionals, especially in compliance, risk and governance, trust and clarity matter early in the engagement. It’s common for discussions to stall when candidates don’t have a clear sense of compensation expectations upfront. That doesn’t mean every single job ad needs to list exact figures (more on that below), but early transparency builds confidence and reduces friction in the talent market.

Market forces are nudging employers toward transparency

Several broader shifts are influencing this change:

Regulatory direction

Although the UK doesn’t yet mandate pay disclosure in ads, the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive (June 2026) and global compliance pressures are reshaping expectations. UK organisations with EU operations or global footprints are already preparing for more open salary communication.

Talent expectations are changing

Many candidates now prioritise clarity around total reward when considering a role. Even if salary isn’t published publicly, candidates expect early transparency in conversation, not late stage reveals.

Competition for scarce specialist talent

Where markets tighten, such as risk or regulatory functions in financial services, transparency can be a differentiator. It signals respect for candidate time and reduces early uncertainty.

A more human approach to pay transparency

At FS Talent, we find that effective transparency doesn’t always mean putting an exact number on a job ad – it means being open in process and conversation. For example:

Provide salary bands early in discussions rather than withholding them until final interviews
Be upfront about reward philosophy, bonus structures and flexibility expectations
Set clear expectations around career progression and total package, not just base pay

This approach fosters trust with candidates and supports stronger long-term hiring outcomes.

Linking salary transparency to wider talent strategy

Salary transparency also ties into other organisational priorities like pay equity, retention and employer brand. For example:

Research suggests that transparency practices can support efforts to close pay gaps and improve perceptions of fairness.
Transparent employers in other sectors report stronger engagement and lower turnover.
Salary benchmarking (using data to set ranges that reflect true market value) is increasingly seen as best practice for talent attraction.

What this means for financial services hiring

In 2026, salary transparency is less a compliance checkbox and more a strategic conversation tool.

For employers:

Transparency helps you stand out in a cautious market
It accelerates candidate engagement
It supports fairness and equity goals

For candidates:

Early clarity reduces uncertainty
It improves decision-making quality
It enables better market comparison

Ultimately, transparency isn’t a flat rule – it’s about communication, trust and alignment. Organisations that get this right are consistently able to attract better-matched candidates faster, even in a competitive environment.

INSIGHTS