eFinancialCareers

Bankers are sitting on a profit of more than $25bn (€21bn) on their share options on the back of the meteoric rise in financial stock prices on both sides of the Atlantic over the past 12 months. The recovery in banking stocks has left staff at the biggest US and European banks with share options worth a total of almost $100bn at the start of this year. Figures compiled by Financial... Read more

Solicitors say UK government plans to introduce a new points-based immigration system will make it easier for non-EU financial services employees to work in the country. Julia Onslow Cole, a partner at law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, says in future most banking employees will be able to enter the UK without lining up a job in advance. Under the new system, migrants who amass more than 75 points after meeting a... Read more

Risk management practices have been thrown into the limelight over the past few years thanks to incidents such as Barings Bank nearly being destroyed by Nick Leeson or, closer to home, the unauthorized foreign exchange losses that plagued NAB. The need for stricter risk management procedures has led to more and more banks employing econometric modelers for risk management roles. Emma Cassidy, an account director at Bluefin Resources, says that over... Read more

A new survey suggests that finance and human resources staff in the UK, Australia and Ireland move overseas for the pure joy of travelling. By comparison, their counterparts in France and Germany tend to move abroad for career reasons. The survey, of 1,800 international finance and HR professionals by Robert Half International, found that 68% and 63% respectively of those surveyed in France and Germany cited a career move as the... Read more

Last week South Australian-based Funds SA appointed Hong Kong-based Lloyd George Management to manage an Asia ex-Japan equities mandate worth A$66 million. Launched last December, the Myer Family Office is also a seed investor in Lloyd George’s Asia-ex Japan fund. Moving with the times Not only are mandates leaving our shores - international banks are looking overseas to hire high-quality candidates. “In the past, the UK and the US have been... Read more

When it comes to having a few ‘mistruths’ on your resume, or ‘inflating’ your salary to a prospective employer, don’t even let it cross your mind. These days, it is common practice for a company to run a detailed background check on an applicant. In fact, gone are the days when all a company does is contact the referees that the candidate has nominated. Angus Price, a partner from search firm... Read more

With a historically low unemployment rate of about 5% in Australia, the financial services sector continues to boom ahead at a great speed. That’s good news for candidates but a tougher market for employers out recruiting as the talent pool is thinner on the ground. According to Angus Price, a partner from search firm Derwent Executive, it’s not just investment banks and fund managers that are actively hiring but also corporates growing... Read more

An international shortage of financial services talent is creating a brain drain from smaller markets according to one recruiter. “Whenever conditions are strong in Asia, London, or New York, analyst and associate level bankers who are seeking a more international career make the most of the opportunity to move on,” says Victoria Biggs, a consultant at Sydney-based Jon Michel Executive Search. “We are seeing a real exodus at the junior level,”... Read more

Credit Suisse is gearing up in Asian prime services. The Swiss bank has appointed Jupiter Asset Management’s Kevin Meehan as director and head of Asian prime services coverage in Hong Kong, according to Finance Asia. The bank’s Hong Kong prime services team now numbers 10 and further hires are forecast as the bank seeks to grow the business in Hong Kong, as well as in Australia, Singapore and Tokyo.

The Australian job market is crying out for financial planners and paraplanners, with demand up nearly 100% according to some reports. Recruitment specialist eJobs noted 460 advertised roles for Sydney, Regional NSW and ACT in May, an 80% rise on last year, MoneyManagement.com reports. According to eJobs’ report, Australia is also short on candidates. This is bad news for employers, but good news for candidates, who can command higher salaries for their... Read more

National Australia Bank is building up its institutional markets and services division. The bank will spend an extra $10 million this financial year on diversifying resources and adding staff, the Australian Financial Review reports. National Australia Bank's restructuring of its institutional banking division will provide the next leg of growth. The bank is turning its attention to growth and the marketing of new products, and expects the restructuring of its globally focused... Read more

Employees of ABN AMRO’s Australian operations have become part owners of the company. ABN AMRO’s Australian staff are set to buy out 25% of the equity in the local business, according to The Australian. The paper says all staff at the bank have received a share of equity, with each receiving $1,000 of shares per year of service and senior staff having the option to buy more. ABN’s Australian operation is following in... Read more

Westpac Financial Planning is looking to hire an unspecified number of financial advisers, in anticipation of increased demand for professional advice, reports MoneyManagement.com. Westpac expects demand for their services to increase as a result of the superannuation changes handed down in the 2006 Federal Budget. Alongside technical skills, the company is reportedly in search of people who fit with company’s values of teamwork, integrity, and achievement.

The number of people planning to leave England has doubled in the past three years, and Australia is high on their list. The number of people planning to leave England has doubled in the past three years, and Australia is high on their list. 13 per cent of Brits surveyed by research company ICM said they wanted to leave “in the near future”, up from 7 per cent in 2003, and a... Read more

With booming conditions globally, is an MBA still required to get to the top of the pile? Richard Lyons, from executive search firm Carr Lyons, says that MBAs are more valuable at the associate level than at the assistant-director of VP level. At the associate level an MBA from a good university will separate people from the crowd. At the higher end, employers are looking more for solid experience in their... Read more

Paul Masi, as Merrill Lynch’s new chief executive officer and country head for its Australian operations, shares striking similarities to his counterpart at UBS. Announced Wednesday, Masi’s appointment is effective immediately, following Kevin Skelton stepping down from the role. Having joined Merrill Lynch in Australia in 2000, Masi was previously country co-head and head of Australasian equities before relocating to Hong Kong in 2003 to become head of Asia Pacific region equity... Read more

When the going gets tough, wannabe bankers start showing their moves. Over the past few weeks the global financial community has been following one UBS candidate’s innovative approach to nabbing a job. His was no ordinary application – it featured an 11 page CV and a sharply edited video featuring him ballroom dancing, breaking bricks with his bare hands. Observers are treated to nuggets of wisdom like ‘To achieve success you... Read more

Bankers on Wall Street and in the City of London are expecting bumper bonuses this year. How does the Sydney market compare? Quite well, seems to be the answer. Australia may have a market cap of just US$854bn – 20 times smaller than the US, but our research suggests financial services salaries in the market punch above their weight. According to the office of New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, finance... Read more

Australia’s banks have been quietly trying to hire more women, but the industry is still a bastion of masculinity. “We have some employers who are still concerned that their executive ranks remain something of a boys club,” says Matthew Gowan, a Melbourne-based specialist in banking at recruitment group Hays. “They say if they have male and female candidates of the same quality, then they may pick the female to balance things... Read more