eFinancialCareers

With commodities prices falling and the markets slowing, demand for commodity traders in Australia is also quieting down. But while hiring is no longer hot, commodity traders are not being laid off in droves either, according to Geoff Officer, CEO of outplacement firm The Donington Group. “We are not seeing any [redundancies], though we are seeing some realignments within investment banks.” Samuel Gilbert, at Tardis Group, does not think recruitment will pick... 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

Amid all the talk of Aussie banks axing headcounts, your job now looks safer if you’re a techie rather than a trader. Cost cutting on the IT front will probably mean a few postponed projects, rather than mass redundancies. And one of the biggest banking upgrades – CBA’s four-year, AU$580m IT renewal – is definitely going ahead, with recruiters still hiring. And what of the other large local banks? ANZ’s... Read more

Reports that CBA is planning a 5% cost reduction have sparked redundancy rumours, and mean that three of Australia’s four main retail banks are in or verging on cost cutting mood. ANZ has plans to reduce management-level jobs, with at least 500 positions said to be at risk. And Westpac, which cut 450 head-office roles last year, is in limbo until shareholders vote on the St George takeover proposal in... Read more

The Australian Government has injected AU$2.8bn into the banking system and guaranteed bank deposits. But will these initiatives have any effect on recruitment? Simon Tobin, national manager, financial services at recruiter Michael Page, comments: “There’s still a lot of caution out there. People are wondering what it will mean: they’re waiting to see what new regulations and government involvement will mean.” Toby Aikins, at search firm Jon Michel, says the injection... 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

The contrasting fortunes of AMP’s fund management and risk businesses are mirrored by the wider recruitment market in these sectors. While AMP’s fund management division reported a fall in earnings, the group’s results were boosted by the strong performance of its risk unit (Money Management). AMP Capital’s chief economist Shane Oliver tells us that the credit crisis, oil price rises and high interest rates created a “perfect storm” for... Read more

ABN AMRO Australia is about to disappear into the mothership, Royal Bank of Scotland, with an accompanying and immediate purge of management. Royal Bank of Scotland has announced it will buy the remaining equity in ABN AMRO's local unit and that Stephen Williams, RBS Australia's managing director, will run the combined ABN and RBS business. Angus James, head of ABN Australia and New Zealand, will step down. Will this... Read more