eFinancialCareers

A job on Collins Street might be safer than one on Wall Street, but the global financial crisis is still sucking some confidence from the local market. “Recruitment is quieter than this time last year across all financial services markets and there is a preference for contracting in all but the most senior roles. When someone leaves, the firm will always try to use its internal resources first. It’s becoming... Read more

Get ready for a rocky 2009 – KPMG reckons banks in Australia will slash 10,000 jobs over the next year. The accountancy firm’s recently released annual banking statistics survey states that more consolidation will lead to fewer, larger banks. The scale, scope and speed of the financial crisis will also help to send headcount tumbling. Westpac's AU$17bn takeover of St George is likely to result in redundancies for 10% of... Read more

Finance sector recruitment in Brisbane is suffering like the rest of the country, but certain jobs remain in demand. Compliance, risk, actuarial, audit, IT, regional banking and agri-finance professionals are all comparatively difficult to find, according to Andrew Steele, general manager, people & performance services at Suncorp. “The Brisbane-based candidate pool for specialised banking roles tends to be smaller because the relative scale of corporate head office operations in... Read more

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a leading headhunter has described the Australian banking recruitment market as “two-speed”. John Coles, CEO of Executive Group International, says global banks are in limbo as they wait for direction from new owners and/or overseas masters. Meanwhile, Australia’s comparatively strong economic growth and its mining industry are helping to hold up local commercial banks with minimal exposure to sub-prime calamities. “The... Read more

Despite the dramatic upheavals in US investment banks, at Australia’s retail banks it’s steady as she goes. Hiring activity has calmed a little but that goes back several months so isn’t because of the US disintegration, says Edmund Gill at recruiter Hays. “Any hiring slowdown really began in July. Liquidity is tight, so there’s been an awful lot of prudence in the past three to six months. Banks are not... Read more

Thinking of working in Singapore? Employers and candidates there have become more cautious in the wake of the global financial crisis, but the local jobs market remains in comparatively good shape and is still attracting foreign talent. These are some of the key issues emerging from this week’s eFinancialCareers roundtable discussion, which was attended by senior internal recruiters from several of Singapore’s leading financial institutions. The roundtable panelists, who asked not... Read more

The potential Westpac/St George merger, which would create the country’s biggest lender by market value, is set to edge Sydney slightly further in front of Melbourne as Australia’s premier banking hub. Both Westpac and St George are Sydney-based, so the newly combined bank would also be headquartered in the harbour city. Mary Grant, principal consultant in recruitment firm Hudson's banking and finance division, comments: “Westpac’s Sydney headquarters is not... Read more

UOB is still busy hiring in the PRC as it continues to expand its franchise across the country, but the search for banking talent in Chinese cities is not without challenges. Chua Tian Chu, executive vice president for UOB in China, tells us: “We currently have over 300 staff in UOB (China), and will grow our headcount as we expand our network and product offerings.” In preparation for... Read more