eFinancialCareers

If you’re looking for a crunch-immune sector of the hiring market, financial planning may be it. Count Financial has slapped a freeze on head-office recruitment, yet the dealer group is still hunting for financial planning talent, according to chief executive Marianne Perkovic. Demand is focused on people who can bring clients with them. “They need to have experience of dealing with clients face-to-face,” Perkovic says. Melbourne-based executive recruiter... Read more

The hiring market for hedge funds is due for a lean patch as potential industry consolidation and the short-selling ban hit home. Spencer Young, chief executive of Australian-based fund HFA Holdings, reckons the number of funds worldwide is set to fall as a result of consolidation caused by market volatility. (Investor Daily) What will be the impact in Australia? Hans Kunnen, head of investments market research at Colonial First... Read more

The financial crisis and the prospect of a regulatory crackdown mean derivatives jobs are in short supply in Australia. Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, expects the derivatives market to soon be subjected to increased government regulation. “This will have an impact on job opportunities in the financial sector,” he adds. Derivatives traders are feeling the pinch of relatively weak balance sheets, says John Coles, CEO,... Read more

Don’t be shy about showing off your extra-curricular experience on your CV – it may just set you apart from the candidate pack in today’s tough employment market. Jon Michel, principal of Jon Michel Executive Search, says including all-around abilities indicates that a candidate can work hard, play hard and is therefore robust enough to cope with the long hours in the banking sector. “Successful candidates will ideally be good... 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

The experience bean-counters gain from working for a Big Four accounting firm is proving invaluable when cashed up i-banks and asset managers come calling for their services. Cameron Heaney, managing director, Imagine Accounting and Finance Resourcing, says chartered accountants offer an appealing skill set. “The Big Four firms lead in controls and compliance. Today, more so than five to 10 years ago, controls and compliance are much higher on... 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

Its CEO and chairman are gone, its share price has hit a new low, and it’s battling for its very survival. But the news is not all bad for the embattled staff of Babcock & Brown – the international banks are keen to take on B&B refugees who jump ship or get laid off. Recruiter John Coles, chief executive of Executive Group International, says Babcock employees are hot commodities.... Read more

The bad news for banking jobs has continued with the latest release of the Oliver Job Index. The monthly report says total banking and finance job advertisements fell 3.8% in July and 13.92% over the previous 12 months. The year-on-year decline was the worst of any sector. Report author Bob Olivier, director of recruiter Olivier Group says retail banking jobs were hardest hit, while i-banking job ads were down 2.9% for... Read more

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is set to slash 600 jobs but recruitment and salaries in the insurance sector are still staying strong at a senior level. The Sydney-based firm also reported its first loss in six years and says it will sell its floundering UK business (Melbourne Age). Grant Williams, of Reynolds Stockbrokers, explains: “They’ve had a fairly big exposure to the equities market…Apart from problems with their UK operations, they’ve also... Read more

Carlyle Group is expanding in Australia with the appointment of ex-ANZ banker David Balint as director of leveraged finance. The US-based private equity firm will now have two dedicated teams Down Under – buyout and leveraged finance – with eight executives based in its Sydney office. According to Balint, this is just the start of a determined push by Carlyle in the region. “The leveraged finance team sees... Read more

Boutique investment advisers are picking up the slack as overseas i-banks continue to take heat from the credit crunch. Lazard Carnegie Wylie, which recently announced that it almost trebled its profits in the last half of 2007, is leading the way (Business Spectator). Victoria Biggs, from Jon Michel Executive Search, says tough times often provide local operations with access to quality candidates as the big boys take a... Read more

Times are getting tougher for bankers, with jobs growth in the finance sector slumping 3.1% since May 2007, according to latest instalment of the monthly Olivier Job Index. Report author Bob Olivier says it’s even worse in i-banking, where job ads are down 9.7% on an annualised basis. “The transactions aren’t happening like last year,” explains Olivier. “IPO activity is also down." Despite the dim jobs outlook for bankers,... Read more

There are mega deals in prospect such as BHP Billiton’s bid for Rio Tinto, the Westpac and St George merger plus Xstrata’s play for Indophil, yet it looks like slim pickings for M&A bankers in 2008. Analyst Colin Whitehead from equities research firm Fat Prophets says the liquidity crisis and the higher cost of funds could restrict M&A activity. “But there’s still life out there and within resources there are... Read more

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is set to spend big on upgrading its aging IT systems, in a move which could mean more jobs for techies. The bank is coughing up AU$580m over four years to drag itself kicking and screaming into the 21st century and has selected software provider SAP to make it happen. While CBA refused to comment on the job implications of the upgrade, Simon Lynch, national director, technology,... Read more

There is drama galore in the murky world of securitization, but for bankers’ jobs the outlook seems decidedly tragic. It remains to be seen whether the recent decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to buy AU$780m of mortgage-backed bonds will help to kick-start the market, says one leading economist, who asked not to be named. In the short-term at least, this isn’t exactly sweet music for... Read more

Bank of Ireland has opened a project finance office in Sydney and is looking to create more jobs in the city, according to Tom Hayes, chief executive of the firm’s corporate banking division. “Over the next 12 to 18 months, we see significant opportunities in a number of key market areas, including the electricity market (particularly generation), oil and gas plus infrastructure/PPP,” says Hayes. “We have a solid pipeline of... Read more

It’s left the finances of some of Australia’s biggest local governments in poor shape, but Lehman Brothers is adamant the Grange Securities fiasco and the credit squeeze won’t force an early exit from the domestic market. The global i-bank has grown its Australian staff by 50-60 over the past 12 months, according to Michelle Sprod, head of marketing at Lehmans. “We will continue to grow as the market dictates and... Read more

Domestic and international bond markets returned to favour in the first quarter of 2008. A report from Morningstar indicates the domestic bond index jumped 2.21%, while hedged international bonds chalked up a 2.72% return for the quarter. Citigroup’s credit sector specialist, Mark Reade, says corporate bond volumes are also strong, with the banks and AAA Kangaroo issuing at lofty levels. “It’s been so strong that almost AU$20bn in corporate bonds... Read more

First quarter 2008 was a nightmare for world share markets, as investor confidence was squeezed by sizeable bad debt writedowns by banks across the globe and mounting evidence that the US is headed for recession. The MSCI World Index finished the quarter down 12.4% in AU$ terms, contributing to a minus 14.6% return for the year to 31 March. Portfolio mix still global Despite the gloom, Australian institutional and retail... Read more