eFinancialCareers

One measure of Singapore’s desperation for private banking talent is the sudden popularity of the city’s elite hairdressers. According to one banker in Hong Kong, recruiters at rival outfits have been trawling the city's finest salons in the belief that crimpers used to tending the hair of the rich and famous can easily make the transition to private bankers managing their money. If you're capable of dealing with the tribulations of... Read more

Most Aussie investment bankers plan to have their feet up by the pool well before middle-age, according to our latest poll. Just over 70% of those who responded reckoned they would have chucked in banking by the age of 45, with the rest being gone by the time they get to the big five-o. But most don't particularly want to retire too early either; just 40% want to be vegging in... Read more

Is it possible to be too experienced for the Australian market? This is what some of you have been claiming in the comments on our recent article on the seeming lack of Australian jobs. Off the record, recruiters say it's true. The problem seems to be that the lure of the Sydney lifestyle is encouraging bankers from overseas to apply for jobs that are way too junior for them. And local recruiters... Read more

And which is best if you want to get ahead in finance? With two of Australia’s largest financial institutions – including National Australia Bank, the country’s biggest bank – Melbourne is a heavyweight contender on the banking scene. But most recruiters agree that Sydney wears the crown as Australia’s financial capital, with more banks, more jobs, bigger salaries and, some would say, a better lifestyle. The superior city has been a contentious point... Read more

Macquarie Bank has been dubbed the "millionaire's factory" for over a decade, despite the Sydney-based bank's apparent objections. But now there's no denying it. It is believed that nearly all the 2,076 staff who sit at "director" level – that is associate directors, divisional directors, executive directors and above – received at least AU$1m (US$824k) in the past year. The bank's annual report revealed managing director Allan Moss and investment bank head... Read more

Want to work somewhere else? Seems like banks are only too happy to oblige. It's all part of the war (and we're talking brutal hand-to-hand combat here) for Australian finance talent. OK, so Australia is short of financiers, but banks' thinking seems to be that they'd rather put someone out to pasture somewhere else for a few years than see them skip the fence to work for a rival. Erica Burmeister,... Read more

Bankers around the globe are apprehensive about losing their jobs. Not in Australia. We asked people visiting our sites to rate their chances of involuntarily losing their job in the next 24 months on a scale ranging from "negligible" through to "very high". Almost half of Aussies polled – 49% – said that their chances of being shown the door before mid-2009 were "low" or "negligible". In Asia, Europe and the... Read more

If you're a banker looking for work in Australia, now is the time to be doing it. But accountants should stay put. According to the Olivier Internet Job Index, the number of banking jobs advertised on the net rose 10.3% in the last month – and 43.14% in the last 12 months. This compares to an increase across all sectors of just 1.18% in the last month, and 38.96% in the... Read more

Senior private bankers are in short supply, and banks are turning to juniors to fill the gaps. This is good news for anyone who hopes to get a foothold in the private banking industry, as normally private banking is a very senior, strategic job (AU$300k plus bonus). "It is a real struggle to find people," says James Wheaton from recruiter Michael Page. "There is such a shortage, banks are even targeting... Read more

There’s nothing better than cash in the hand – or at least a big fat bonus. A survey just conducted by Hays found that two thirds of respondents prefer a high cash component in their salaries these days over non-cash benefits. That compares with 42% who said they preferred cash when the survey was last conducted in April 2006. Matthew Gowan, senior manager of Hays Banking, says the candidate shortage has resulted... Read more

Will Barclays acquire ABN AMRO or won't it? Even if it does, Australian jobs are likely to be unaffected. ABN AMRO is by far the bigger of the two banks in Australia and New Zealand, with about 700 people on the ground. Barclays, by contrast, has fewer than 100 employees, mainly spread between Sydney and Melbourne. There's little overlap between the two in terms of operations. ABN's primary focus is on corporate... Read more

Australian banking executives are retiring in their droves, creating opportunities for younger bankers to fill their shoes. Macquarie Bank, for instance, has lost a clutch of senior types in recent months, including its deputy chairman, its executive chairman and its treasurer. Their exit was partly down to restructuring and partly down to a government decision to remove the limits on superannuation deposits this financial year – making now a good time... Read more

London’s calling – and Australians are answering. Walk into any London finance, law or accountancy firm and you’d think you were in Bondi. Research from London-based recruiter Joslin Rowe shows the supply of skilled financial professionals is outstripping demand in London with 10 jobs to every four candidates. It found that 25% of all corporate finance and M&A lawyers in London are Australians or New Zealanders, and says there are 5,000... Read more

Derivatives jobs in China’s financial markets are set to boom this year, with salaries in Shanghai already matching those in other Far Eastern financial centres. Buoyed by the new interest rate benchmark mechanism and the expected launch of China’s first index futures contract, expertise is likely to be drawn from Hong Kong and Singapore. Dennis Koh, managing partner of Goshen Staines Singapore, an executive search firm, says pay in Shanghai is... Read more

Babcock & Brown have taken the art of incentive payments to a new level. Bonus payments for senior executives often reach two thirds of total rewards, or possibly for the occasional individual. In 2006, however, Babcock appears to have established a new benchmark of at least 90% for its senior executives – and recruiters say other employers are taking note. The company’s annual report reveals that all the investment bank's senior... Read more

If you want a change of job, now would be a good time to go for it. Manpower’s Annual Talent Shortage Survey exposes the extent to which Australia’s finance firms are crying out for staff. It says 61% of Australian employers cannot find qualified staff to fill vacancies. And of the 10 most critical sectors, finance (at number 4) and engineering (at number 2) were the only professional sectors experiencing trouble:... Read more