eFinancialCareers

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

Don’t be put off infrastructure finance (IF) by the decline of Babcock & Brown. If you can get a job in this sector you’ll be well placed to ride out the recession. But only apply if your deal structuring skills are up to scratch. The comparatively solid IF employment market is underpinned by continued government spending on desalination plants, toll roads, transport, railways, ports and other domestic infrastructure. Simon Tobin,... 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

A slow final quarter awaits the recruitment market in Singapore and Hong Kong. With Wall Street and Europe delivering daily doses of bad news, many banks in Asia are simply too scared to sign off on new jobs. But the reflective mood in Raffles Place and Central also means that massive layoffs are unlikely. Financial employers are playing wait-and-see, leaving the chainsaw in the shed for now. James Carss,... 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

As Nomura gears up to integrate Lehman Brothers staff across Asia-Pacific, should LB bankers be preparing for a complete change in their working culture, or even jumping ship in fear of the takeover? The answer, it seems, is that sitting things out is probably the best bet – life at Nomura may not be so different to life at Lehman, and the Japanese bank could offer better job security, too.... 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