Following our recent study into the highest paying languages in tech, the Adzuna team thought it would be a great idea to scope out how well different languages pay in an industry that is all about the figures – the finance sector.

With Brexit talks now well underway, have the big banks started investing their bucks elsewhere or do European languages still dominate the top 10?

Chinese Speakers See the Highest Salaries

The average salary for finance jobs requesting Chinese speakers was £41,573 across the UK – an average £7,647 higher than the average pay promised to professional Chinese speakers! The second and third most lucrative languages in the industry were German (£38,512) and French (£36,759) respectively.

Top 5 Paying Languages in Finance

1. Chinese – £41,573
2. German – £38,512
3. French – £36,759
4. Arabic  – £35,908
5. Portuguese – £35,550

French and German Are Most In Demand

Although French and German speakers just missed out on the salary top spots, they were still the most sought after languages. With 491 finance vacancies in the UK asking for French speakers and 480 requesting German speakers, these languages offer great pay as well as a wealth of opportunities.

In spite of the fact that Britain is due to leave the EU in just over a year, these were not the only European languages in high demand. Spanish and Italian also made the top of the list, seeing a combined total of 446 vacancies across the UK.

Languages Worth More With Finance Skills

A salary premium for working in tech was seen in almost every language. Chinese topped the tables again earning a whopping £7,647 more than the average salary of all Chinese-speaking roles. Portuguese followed closely behind with a premium of £6,745.

Surprisingly Japanese was the sole language to not see any premiums. Despite being the highest paid language of 2017, the average salary for finance jobs was £395 lower than all Japanese roles. According to our study from last year, the tech industry is where this language is most valued with Japanese speakers earning up to double the pay of their non-tech Japanese speaking counterparts.

London the Land Of Opportunity?

It’s well known that working in London will tend to give you a bigger pay check than those living outside of the capital. Italian speakers who worked in finance and also lived in London saw premiums of £8,103 when compared to those who lived further afield and German speakers could earn an extra £9,110 if willing to move to the big city.

But with higher living costs in London compared to the rest of the UK – as well as the majority of all vacancies being outside of the capital – you may want to have a long think before packing your suitcases!

The Highest Paid Languages in Finance

Language	Finance Vacancies	Finance Avg. Salary	Avg. Salary (All Vacancies)	Finance Salary Premium
Chinese	129	£41,573	£33,926	£7,647
German	480	£38,512	£34,169	£4,343
French	491	£36,759	£32,377	£4,383
Arabic	26	£35,908	£33,742	£2,166
Portuguese	24	£35,550	£28,805	£6,745
Spanish	225	£35,435	£30,061	£5,374
Japanese	31	£35,238	£35,634	-£395
Russian	77	£33,554	£29,001	£4,553
Italian	221	£32,702	£29,520	£3,182
Dutch	142	£31,591	£30,452	£1,139