A bank is expanding
In the current climate it's rare to see a firm in expansion mode, but one Chinese bank has just set up a London subsidiary and is set to grow its foreign exchange team throughout 2009.
China Construction Bank received FSA approval in December and has since moved into its London offices and set about building up its team.
China's second biggest lender is to offer commercial banking, trade finance and foreign exchange dealing in its UK branch.
It's currently looking for a head of FX, as well as FX derivative traders and salesmen. Though the bank didn't want to comment on the specifics of how big the team is likely to be eventually, we understand that it's going to be recruiting throughout this year for the London office.
Recruiters didn't seem to know anything about CCB's intentions. But Peter Harwood, partner and head of FX at headhunters Principal Search, says now is a good time to look for talent in this sector in the UK.
"There are a lot more people on the market, but not as many as you would expect. In spite of smaller bonuses this year, people are not necessarily looking to move to a new opportunity. Job stability and security is currently valued over short-term financial gain," he says.
China Construction Bank has also just received a licence to open a branch in New York, which is expected to carry out the same functions as its UK subsidiary.
In spite of all these bullish expansion plans, the bank has announced plans to issue 40 billion yuan (4bn) of subordinated bonds to boost its capital adequacy ratio.
