eFinancialCareers

The jobs market for proprietary traders at the moment is about as volatile as the share market they are working in from day to day. In the light of investment banks such as Citigroup having made several prop traders redundant, and UBS having racked up large trading losses, experts warn that more job cuts are on the way. Tim McGowen of Fortitude Capital, who has managed proprietary trading books for some of... 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

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

Who'll buy ABN AMRO's Australian unit? And what will happen to its 700 local staff? With a reported AU$1bn price tag, and most banks struggling to find cash at the moment, sale advisers Lazard Carnegie Wylie certainly have their work cut out. Analysts regard ABN AMRO’s mergers and acquisition division as one of the key strengths of the local unit, and say any buyer will likely be keen to retain as many... 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

You’d think UBS would be finding it hard to hang on to people: a first-quarter loss of US$12bn, writedowns of US$19bn and job cuts in Europe – including the chairman himself, Marcel Ospel. The strange thing is, no one seems to want to get out of there. Recruiters, whose inboxes are usually crammed with CVs when institutions show signs of cracking, say the only thing to come out of UBS so... Read more

Domestic and international bond markets returned to favour in the first quarter of 2008. A report from Morningstar indicates the domestic bond index jumped 2.21%, while hedged international bonds chalked up a 2.72% return for the quarter. Citigroup’s credit sector specialist, Mark Reade, says corporate bond volumes are also strong, with the banks and AAA Kangaroo issuing at lofty levels. “It’s been so strong that almost AU$20bn in corporate bonds... Read more

There is drama galore in the murky world of securitization, but for bankers’ jobs the outlook seems decidedly tragic. It remains to be seen whether the recent decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to buy AU$780m of mortgage-backed bonds will help to kick-start the market, says one leading economist, who asked not to be named. In the short-term at least, this isn’t exactly sweet music for... Read more

Cantor Fitzgerald has plans to further expand its headcount in Hong Kong and Singapore, following the opening of a new office in the Lion City. And it’s looking at the i-banks as a source of fresh talent. The US brokerage, which also employs about 50 people in Hong Kong, has taken on five Singaporean sales traders to service the hedge fund and asset management sectors. William Selig, Cantor’s Singapore managing... 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

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

Australia’s equity, debt and foreign exchange markets have surged over the past few years, creating opportunities for senior Aussie bankers who left the country to work abroad. “We are starting to see Australian expats returning to the Sydney market due to its increasing influence in the region,” Matthew McCloghry, Sydney based partner at Anton Murray Consulting, tells eFinancialCareers.com. “While traditionally, candidates would look at a lower level role, they are now seeing... Read more