European talent returns home

The job market is relatively buoyant and the choice of candidates has been widened by a flow of experienced European expatriates looking for jobs back home, after a spell in the UK or US.

The pattern is being repeated across Europe. The domestic banks and boutiques that watched helplessly as their brightest and best employees were lured away during the boom years are now in a position to hire at least some of them back.

Tracy Turton, who handles financial institutions recruitment at Egon Zehnder in Italy, says: 'Italian banks are mopping up some of the surplus coming out of the bulge-bracket investment banks in London.' Utility and real estate expertise are in notable demand.

French headhunters are particularly cheerful. Jean Michel Beigbeder at Whitehead Mann in France says: 'Some French Banks are in a recruiting mood, as well as some Anglo-Saxon banks who had been late in the game and need top talent.'

Bertrand Richard, head of financial services recruiting at Korn/Ferry in Paris, agrees: 'There is no freeze on the French market.'

In Germany, Andreas Weik, head of financial services at Korn/Ferry, is also busy. He says: 'Bankers made redundant in London are coming back to work in Frankfurt.' Mergers and acquisitions originators are among those who are sought after.

Headhunters report a growing realisation among younger continental European bankers that jobs back home are more secure than in the UK and US.

Maurizia Villa, head of financial services at Heidrick and Struggles in Milan, says: 'People want to work in Italy. They know that here, banks face a long legal process if they want to make redundancies.'

The decline of bonus levels in the US and UK, which are traditionally higher than elsewhere, has also made working there seem less attractive.

Much of the recruitment in Europe is being done by universal banks. In Italy these include IMI, the investment banking arm of San Paolo UBM, the investment banking subsidiary of UniCredito and Banca Monte Dei Paschi. All have been adding Italian-based hires.

One high-profile arrival is Matteo Arpe, who left Lehmans in London to be head of investment banking at Banca di Roma in Italy late last year.

In France, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, and Société Générale, have been hiring for both Paris and London. BNP Paribas' London headcount rose by more than 15% to 2,690 between 2000 and 2001, partly reflecting efforts to increase resources after the merger that created the bank.

In Germany, boutiques as well as universal banks are recruiting. 'The US banks have a recruitment freeze, but smaller players are hiring,' says Weik at Korn/Ferry.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Deutsche Bank and the mergers and acquisitions boutiques Sal Oppenheim and Doertenbach, are among those adding to their presence in Frankfurt.

European universal banks are rarely first choice destinations. Working alongside retail banks can mean that investment bankers have limited autonomy, and salaries can be 40% lower than at pure investment bank equivalents. But many job seekers are not in a position to pick and choose.

'For a while people waited in London while they tried to find another position. Now they are starting to come back to Italy,' says Alberto Gavazzi, head of financial services recruitment at Russell Reynolds' Italian office.

Weik in Frankfurt says: 'People were staying in the UK. But since Christmas I have been receiving 10 to 15 telephone calls a week from bankers who have lost their jobs in London and want to move back to Germany.'

It is not only hiring that is healthy on the Continent. Job losses have been lower, too. One headhunter estimated that in Frankfurt only four bankers were made redundant at Merrill Lynch last year and no more than 20 from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley combined.

The small number of job losses on the Continent partly reflects the fact that there were relatively few jobs there in the first place, however.

Traditionally, many banks have maintained some of their German, French, or Italian teams in London. As a result, not all of the returning expatriates are finding it easy to get a job.

Gavazzi at Russell Reynolds says some younger Italians are moving out of investment banking. 'Bright young investment bankers are in demand for strategic planning and financial roles reporting directly to the chief executive in Italy's middle market companies,' he says.

Repatriated bankers in Germany are less fortunate. 'People are willing now to accept lower salaries, but there are a lot more people than positions,' says Weik.

'Most of the investment bankers want to move into private equity, but they are not hiring experts with exit know-how.

'Corporate development positions are also not easy to find. Many are unemployed.'