eFinancialCareers

What is it about ABN AMRO employees that’s so irresistible to Babcock & Brown (B&B)? The ASX-listed investment bank has poached ABN’s entire Indian M&A group, having nicked its infrastructure team 18 months ago. ABN staff might well be desirable, but this latest raid was motivated more by location: India. While outsourcing retail support roles to the sub-continent is common, we are now starting to see banks, including B&B... Read more

Aussie banks are on the prowl overseas, picking up choice hires because the Australian market is robust and financial services is short of candidates. Grant Chamberlain, Deutsche Bank’s deputy head of M&A in Australia, says the firm is finding it difficult to source candidates who live locally. Most of its interviewees are Australians living abroad. “We haven't had to spend a lot of time trying to convince foreign nationals to come out... Read more

Now may be a good time to get your CV to Deutsche Bank – especially if you work for Citigroup. A major recruitment drive is expected at Deutsche in Hong Kong as the German giant gears up for its third-quarter 2010 move to Kowloon’s International Commerce Centre. And Citigroup high fliers could be top of its hit list. Alice Liu, a director at search firm Pelham, says Deutsche has... Read more

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is set to spend big on upgrading its aging IT systems, in a move which could mean more jobs for techies. The bank is coughing up AU$580m over four years to drag itself kicking and screaming into the 21st century and has selected software provider SAP to make it happen. While CBA refused to comment on the job implications of the upgrade, Simon Lynch, national director, technology,... 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

Financial control, largely staffed by qualified accountants, is emerging from the shadows, as the bulge bracket tightens its collective belt in the wake of billion-dollar write-downs. Banks in Singapore have their sights set on ensnaring cost controllers from the Big Four accountancy firms. Think strategic partner, not number cruncher. Steve Parkes from Michael Page International explains why the geeks are suddenly chic: “The image of these people is on the... 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

Is Australia awash with expats fleeing slaughter in the City? Well, yes, it seems many suddenly have remembered the joys of home, particularly those in securitization. But leaving London doesn’t always lead to a great job in Aus. Emilie Everett, UBS’s country head of recruiting, has noticed more CVs than normal from people wanting to come back. “They have not lost their jobs, and are from all levels of seniority,... Read more

ANZ may be in a mess back in Melbourne, but in Singapore it’s looking for local talent to kick start its new commodities division. The Aussie firm will face competition as the recruitment market heats up for specialist traders with Asian expertise. The bank, which is considering job cuts in Australia, has opened a commodities trading desk in Singapore as part of its plans to expand Asian operations. “We already... Read more

Bank of Ireland has opened a project finance office in Sydney and is looking to create more jobs in the city, according to Tom Hayes, chief executive of the firm’s corporate banking division. “Over the next 12 to 18 months, we see significant opportunities in a number of key market areas, including the electricity market (particularly generation), oil and gas plus infrastructure/PPP,” says Hayes. “We have a solid pipeline of... Read more

It’s left the finances of some of Australia’s biggest local governments in poor shape, but Lehman Brothers is adamant the Grange Securities fiasco and the credit squeeze won’t force an early exit from the domestic market. The global i-bank has grown its Australian staff by 50-60 over the past 12 months, according to Michelle Sprod, head of marketing at Lehmans. “We will continue to grow as the market dictates and... Read more

Forget the US bulge bracket – Australian private banks are the new kids on the block in Asia, and they’re hiring voraciously. Macquarie Bank launched its Asian private wealth business in Singapore in March this year to target the booming regional market. National Australia Bank is also aggressively expanding in Asia, says Sicilia Lim, a senior consultant at recruiters Robert Walters. Lim says the Australians and other new niche... Read more

The official line out of ANZ at the moment is that it’s conducting an internal review of its securities trading processes and practices, following its involvement in the Opes Prime shares debacle. Unofficially, the bank is known to be wielding the axe internally as it looks to restructure some of its operations and clean out non-performing staff. ANZ Bank’s head of corporate affairs, Paul Edwards, confirmed that four ANZ employees had been... 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

Forget the credit crunch – infrastructure recruitment is continuing as if it never happened. “Everyone’s hiring in that space at the moment,” says Melissa Tal at recruiter Michael Page. Local and global banks are chasing Macquarie and Babcock & Brown’s lead. Others in the sector agree: “We definitely see it as an important part of our future,” says Mark John, head of infrastructure and utilities at Westpac. “It’s an... Read more

First quarter 2008 was a nightmare for world share markets, as investor confidence was squeezed by sizeable bad debt writedowns by banks across the globe and mounting evidence that the US is headed for recession. The MSCI World Index finished the quarter down 12.4% in AU$ terms, contributing to a minus 14.6% return for the year to 31 March. Portfolio mix still global Despite the gloom, Australian institutional and retail... 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

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

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

Under Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing legislation, introduced in 2006, all companies have identification and reporting obligations regarding the transfer of any monies – securities, bullion, FX, insurance, superannuation, gambling, fund and bank account transfers. If money laundering’s your thing, it’s good news – jobs are on the up. Steve Ingram, partner, forensics investigations at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and ex Federal Police and general fraud buster, says there has been... Read more