eFinancialCareers

Want to work somewhere else? Seems like banks are only too happy to oblige. It's all part of the war (and we're talking brutal hand-to-hand combat here) for Australian finance talent. OK, so Australia is short of financiers, but banks' thinking seems to be that they'd rather put someone out to pasture somewhere else for a few years than see them skip the fence to work for a rival. Erica Burmeister,... Read more

Bankers around the globe are apprehensive about losing their jobs. Not in Australia. We asked people visiting our sites to rate their chances of involuntarily losing their job in the next 24 months on a scale ranging from "negligible" through to "very high". Almost half of Aussies polled – 49% – said that their chances of being shown the door before mid-2009 were "low" or "negligible". In Asia, Europe and the... Read more

If you're a banker looking for work in Australia, now is the time to be doing it. But accountants should stay put. According to the Olivier Internet Job Index, the number of banking jobs advertised on the net rose 10.3% in the last month – and 43.14% in the last 12 months. This compares to an increase across all sectors of just 1.18% in the last month, and 38.96% in the... Read more

And which is best if you want to get ahead in finance? With two of Australia’s largest financial institutions – including National Australia Bank, the country’s biggest bank – Melbourne is a heavyweight contender on the banking scene. But most recruiters agree that Sydney wears the crown as Australia’s financial capital, with more banks, more jobs, bigger salaries and, some would say, a better lifestyle. The superior city has been a contentious point... Read more

Is Tokyo losing out to Hong Kong and Singapore? Maybe. There are certainly signs that Tokyo isn't the financial centre it was. Earlier this month, a Japanese government panel led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for financial regulations in the country to be relaxed – a sign that Japanese authorities are becoming concerned about Tokyo's position as an Asian financial centre. In other moves, Fidelity Investments is shifting its Japanese... Read more

Expats are pouring into senior financial services roles in Singapore. Is local talent being overlooked? First things first – overseas workers are in the minority in the Singaporean financial services industry. But they're in the majority when it comes to jobs above a certain rank. James Rushworth, managing director of search firm Profile Search and Selection, says around 90% of staff working at VP (vice president) level and above in roles... Read more

What should you do if your boss sails off to another bank? Do you follow – or stay and maybe aim for his old position? Banks often try to poach whole teams from rivals (take Credit Suisse Asset Management for example, which poached ING's entire small-cap equity team). Lee Humphrey at recruiter Derwent Consulting says there has been more movement of people in the past six months than he's seen in... Read more

Foreign jobs sound delicious but plush salaries don't count for quite so much when the cost of living's taken into account. London is 26.3% dearer than New York; Sydney is 5% cheaper than NY and 31% cheaper than London. Dr Peter Rogers of Mercer, the consultancy behind the figures, says employers adjust salaries to fit the cost of living and tax rates in host countries, creating a benchmark for positions anywhere.... Read more

They're nothing new in the northern hemisphere, but guaranteed bonuses are now available here too. 'Guaranteed bonuses' are when banks commit to paying a specified level of end-of-year bonus, rather than leaving it to your performance or the foibles of the market. From banks' perspective, they're a way of enticing scarce talent to come and work for them. Throwing in a guarantee can also prevent existing staff from leaving to work... Read more

Who'll benefit and who won't from the chaos in the markets? Here's our considered verdict… The winners Derivatives documentation specialists Know how to settle a derivatives trade? This could be your lucky day. According to Financial News last week's trading volumes for credit derivative products were so high credit derivatives operations teams were overwhelmed. Banks may yet turn to temps to help out. Risk managers Our US site reports that hedge funds... Read more

The US sub-prime mortgage crisis will have only a minor impact on the i-banking sector in Australia, says a leading analyst. Troy Angus, a portfolio manager/analyst at Paradice Investment Management, says local banks with exposure are significantly less than one per cent. "The big five domestic retail banks should be largely unaffected," he notes. That's not to say there won't be some bumps and bruises. "There might be problems with some... Read more

With Japanese companies divesting assets and private equity firms swooping in, the next few years should provide good opportunities for M&A bankers in the country. According to information provider Dealogic, Japanese M&A volumes in 2006 hit US$182bn, 40% of the overall Asian market. No wonder foreign banks, including Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, are adding numbers. "We are seeing strong demand for bankers at the senior vice president or... Read more

Forget the piles of money in Sydney and Melbourne, there are plenty of Australian bankers earning mountains in London. The huge amounts on offer in the Old Dart were illustrated by the recent case of an Aussie banker living in the UK, who claimed his employer (Dresdner Kleinwort) sacked him because he was “not German enough”. Teutonic or not, the executive is no doubt hopping mad because his annual salary of £2.2m... Read more

Despite recent high-profile actions launched by senior executives, the Australian banking sector is still relatively free from litigation by disgruntled employees. ANZ Bank is being sued by its former head of institutional banking, Steve Targett, for AU$2.1m for allegedly misleading him about his career prospects. Another action has been launched against the bank by its former head of mergers and acquisitions, Malcolm Hiscock, who alleges ANZ did not pay him a bonus... Read more

The real estate recruitment market is becoming increasingly global. Australian investment bankers with property funds management and asset management expertise are currently hot property in both the UK and US. Meanwhile, property specialists are also in huge demand in Australia. "People are exporting their talent to both the UK and US markets," says Bob Atkins of Property Recruitment Australia. "Australian markets have outperformed both those markets substantially, so the skill base here... Read more