eFinancialCareers

Lehman Brothers staff in Australia have been given breathing space to decide their future by Nomura’s expected takeover of their firm in Asia-Pacific. All employees in the region will be offered Nomura jobs if the deal goes through as planned. And in the meantime, the Japanese bank is said to be sticking to Lehman’s current salary levels for the rest of 2008. Patrick Everest, a partner at Jon Michel... Read more

As the sun sets on Lehman Brothers in Australia, the bankrupt firm is locked in talks with recruiters in a bid to secure positions for its soon-to-be-redundant staff. “It wants to put employees in touch with a select group of executive search companies to help them find their next job,” says one headhunter who asked not to be named. Lehman’s 130-odd Aussie employees will need all the help they can... 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 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

The new Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) is searching for staff as it prepares for trading in early 2009. SMX is looking to boost its current 15-strong headcount, according to a director-level spokesman. He tells us: “We are recruiting aggressively at the moment and expect to have about 75 staff in place by the time we go live. From there, we aim to grow to about 100 and we will... Read more

The value of some super funds may have fallen this year, but there’s certainly been no decline in superannuation recruitment, especially if you’re a financial planner. And while industry funds offer more job vacancies, pay and bonuses are better at private funds. “Super hiring just hasn’t taken a hit. The last few months have been very busy compared to sectors like fund management which have frozen up,” says Kate Agouridis,... 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

The credit crunch and the threat of international fraud are bringing forensic accountants out of the shadows in Asia. These financial sector detectives are becoming an increasingly popular choice for compliance roles at banks in Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong firms are hiring forensic accountants for jobs in compliance, risk and anti-money laundering, according to Nicholas Neal, managing director at recruitment company Optimum. “China is creating demand for... Read more

Fund management professionals looking for jobs in Australia are encountering a tough market, but certain skill sets and international experience are still sought after. The number of asset management job vacancies has declined in just the last two months, according to Lee Humphrey, a fund management principal at Derwent Executive. Humphrey says most of the movement is replacement hiring. “There are still some headcount rises, but these tend to... 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