Fitch looking for staff to work in Eastern Europe

Fitch Ratings is foraging for London-based analysts to work in its growing East European business.

"The Eastern European markets in general are strong emerging markets for us and there's an ongoing focus on recruiting people with those language skills," says Adam Seward, international resourcing manager at the company. "Some of the recruitment takes place locally, but we generally find the expertise we're looking for in London," he adds.

Fitch currently employs 17 people in its Moscow office and 13 people in Poland. Seward says that number is likely to rise by the year end, although the exact number of hires has yet to be finalized.

Most of the additions are likely to be expatriate Russians or Poles currently working in London and looking to return home. But Seward says the company is also open to applications from others who speak the local languages and are interested in working overseas.

Russian and Polish language speakers can often command a premium, he says: "Candidates with additional languages are asking for salaries that are around 15% higher than those without."