eFinancialCareers

There's more to the Middle East than sovereign wealth funds. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have made headlines in the past few weeks, thanks to the hyperactive investments of their sovereign wealth funds, which have helped several international banks out of a sticky sub-prime situation. But there’s more to the region than state investments. International banks are also present – and hiring. Macquarie opened a Dubai office around two... Read more

Stock markets have further to fall, Bank of America’s making redundancies, and recruiters say some banks are already scaling back Asian hiring plans. Reuters reports that Bank of America is scaling back its DCM business in Asia Pac and making around 15 people – mostly structurers and originators – redundant. After steep falls of 20% or more from last year's peaks, many equities now look cheap. But even after the Federal Reserve's dramatic “emergency”... Read more

Regardless of market uncertainty, there are several reasons why banks in Asia should keep hiring. And they are…. Talent shortages Matthew Hoyle, Asia Pacific director of headhunter Matthew Hoyle International, says: “There is still a tremendous shortage in the five to nine years' experience bracket across nearly all divisions, due to SARS and the Asian Crisis. No one was trained and hardly anyone hired during that period.” China Mainland Chinese banks have huge... Read more

Senior women in Australia earn 50% less than their male counterparts, according to a Federal Government report. Is the same true in banking? No – at least not according to Bob Olivier, a director at the Olivier Recruitment Group in Sydney. He says the report’s findings astonished him. “My experience is that clients won’t offer a job to Julie rather than Steve to save on salary. It might be that if... Read more

It’s often the case that when senior management changes occur, the after-effects can be felt through the organisation for some time to come. It’s too early to tell what sort of executive after-effects might develop following the departure of Macquarie Bank’s long-standing CEO Alan Moss in May, but most believe it will be pretty much business as usual on the recruitment front when new boss Nicholas Moore steps in. Macquarie expects to... Read more

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

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

Wholesale redundancies don’t seem to be on the agenda right now for Australia’s major and regional trading banks, or for most of the investment banks. That’s the word from senior recruiters, although the marketplace is still full of downsizing rumours, including one that Bank of America will scale back from a trading bank to a branch office, and that Citigroup will slice into its local headcount. Edmund Gill, director of Hays... Read more

Investment banks are coming up with innovative ways to keep some staff on their payrolls, even while they let go of others in the wake of the credit crunch. This inventiveness mostly takes the form of long-term stock grants, or measures that let banks defer cash expenses in hopes that revenue growth will pick up later on. They may not be popular but, with most banks facing a more... Read more

In risky times, it’s hardly surprising that financial institutions are going to town on risk specialists – particularly counterparty risk analysts who can help them ascertain whether the hedge funds and other clients they’re doing business with are liable to go under. “There has been increased interest but it’s been hard to get really good people in the counterparty space,” confirms Luke Heath, managing director of Chandler Heath. One player said to... Read more

The hiring market for hedge funds is due for a lean patch as potential industry consolidation and the short-selling ban hit home. Spencer Young, chief executive of Australian-based fund HFA Holdings, reckons the number of funds worldwide is set to fall as a result of consolidation caused by market volatility. (Investor Daily) What will be the impact in Australia? Hans Kunnen, head of investments market research at Colonial First... Read more

Soaring issuance of corporate debt and twitchiness about potential bankruptcies are driving recruitment in the Australian credit risk market. Foreign talent is welcome to apply. “The market is currently strong for credit risk professionals, especially those with UK and European experience,” says Patrick Everest at Sydney-based Jon Michel Executive Search. “Most firms have an appetite for quality hires and will create roles for strong candidates.” Janet X Tam, a recruiter at... 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

Australian hedge funds are growing at a rapid pace. According to one recruiter, the same cannot necessarily be said of jobs in the sector. Vincent Bailey, of search firm Bailey Executive, says Australian hedge funds are hiring junior research analysts to conduct modelling strategies and portfolio research. But he says penetrating the market at a more senior level can be challenging – although funds are interested in seasoned traders they typically... 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