eFinancialCareers

There are signs that Australia’s appetite for banking talent isn’t quite what it was. According to the latest Olivier Internet Job Index, banking and finance was one of the slowest growing sectors in the past 12 months, dropping 1.45% in January. Is the sky falling in on the banking recruitment market? Bob Olivier, the report’s author, and director at Olivier Recruitment Group, says he’s not convinced: “We’re putting it down to interest... Read more

It’s been a rough six months for Aussie banks, and one leading stockbroker says more losses could be in store. Since August last year, shares in NAB have plummeted 26%, ANZ shareholders have lost 23%, and Babcock & Brown and Macquarie shares have also taken decent hits. Grant Williams, a director of Sydney-based stockbroker Reynolds, says without a crystal ball it’s difficult to say for sure where share prices are headed.... Read more

Are we about to see torrential demand for bankers and traders with agricultural expertise? Maybe – the recent end of the drought in some areas and rising prices for soft commodities are creating opportunities both for traders specialising in agricultural products, and for agri-economists who can predict what’s going to happen next in the sector. According to the Australian Financial Review, agri-economists in particular are now hot property, with new listed... Read more

Wall Street is definitely not the flavour of the month at the moment, especially when it comes to investment banking. It’s not really surprising, therefore, that many Australians working in the Big Apple are checking out their job options for fear they may not have a job in the very near future. According to Adam Gillibrand, Australian-based executive director for US recruitment and consulting firm Options Group, an increasing number of expat... Read more

Volumes of electricity and futures options have hit record levels and energy trading desks are fizzing. d-cyphaTrade, the energy market’s official product sponsor and development company, says the number of financial energy trading desks has doubled since June 2007, with the banks and options trading houses among the biggest movers and shakers. Dean Price, general manager of d-cypha, explains, “The Australian energy trading industry has recently boomed because of the lure... Read more

It’s probably the best-kept secret in Australian banking circles right now. Just how big will Macquarie Bank’s profit be when it reports its annual results on 20th May, and will employee bonuses rise, fall or remain the same as last year? The bonus question has just about everyone stumped, with recruiters having little if anything to go by, except Macquarie’s own recent forecast that its full-year earnings will be up about... 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

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

Macquarie, the ambitious Australian bank that is considering a bid for the London Stock Exchange, has hired nearly 150 bankers in London this year as part of an aggressive European expansion plan. The bank’s revenues in Europe have more than tripled in 12 months. The staffing at Macquarie’s offices in London, the European headquarters of its investment banking advisory, private equity and infrastructure funds businesses, has jumped by 20% since January... Read more

Australian investment bank Macquarie is moving into the big league by paying its senior staff London-style salaries and recruiting homegrown graduates for its UK business. “We are…competing for high quality staff in all of the world’s major financial centres,” the bank’s chairman, David Clarke is reported as saying on Moneymanagement.com.au. “In order to succeed, the bank’s remuneration needs to be broadly in line with that of other investment banks based in... Read more

Which banks and bankers are suffering the most? No prizes for guessing… ACUTE PAIN 1. Merrill Lynch Share price: down 44% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $181.3k, down 25% on 2006. Net profit for the first nine months of 2007: $1.9bn, down 61%. Redundancies: none announced so far, but exit of chief exec Stan O’Neal is imminent. 2. Bear Stearns Share price: down 38% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $407.6k, down 20% on 2006. Net... Read more

The financial services industry is known for its long working hours, and it seems Australian bankers work longer hours than most. The latest report from AXISS, the financial services division of Invest Australia, suggests Australian bankers may work longer hours than their counterparts in both the UK and the US. The report notes that the average Australian worker worked 1,826 hours last year, well above the G7 average of 1,696 hours... Read more

With the increasing wealth in Australia comes an increase in demand for advice. Citing data from an eJobs salary survey, MoneyManagement.com reported on 10th August that there had been an 80% increase in the number of jobs related to financial planning in Victoria and Tasmania, during the six months to July 2006. Inequities in the demand and supply of qualified planners are serving to push up salaries in the industry –... Read more