Bye-bye big hitters

Last year, the GCC was able to attract some big hitters as international firms transferred senior bankers in anticipation of greater revenues from the region. Now, Goldman Sachs has moved one back to London. Is this a sign of things to come?

Alasdair Warren was co-head of investment banking in the UK at Goldman Sachs before he was transferred to Dubai in March year to run its financing division.

This week, however, he was moved back to London, to meet growing demand for bankers with a deep understanding of UK equity markets, according to Financial News.

Last year, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers made similar moves, transferring senior staff from Europe and the US to the Middle East.

Lehman Brothers' global head of sovereign wealth funds, Makram Azar, has since resurfaced at private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in Dubai. But could more senior bankers be tempted to make the move home again?

Alex Cormack, director, head of Middle East at executive search firm Sheffield Haworth, thinks most bankers who have moved the GCC remain committed to the region.

He points to the recent redundancies at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Jefferies: "I've spoken to a lot of the people who have lost their jobs recently and they are looking for new opportunities in the GCC. People are still convinced of the long-term prospects of the region in spite of the recent problems."

That's not to say it always works out with expats moving to the GCC.

Peter Greaves, director of financial services at headhunters McArthur Murray, says: "I've seen a lot of instances where bankers have moved to the region from the US to a local organisation and it hasn't worked out. Either they've been sold a pup, or they're reporting to bosses who simply have unrealistic expectations about revenue generation."

The value of mergers and acquisitions in the MENA region has fallen by 41% in the year-to-date over the same period in 2008, according to figures from Dealogic.