African banks want African bankers to come back home
As we have mentioned previously, there are still financial services jobs to be had in Africa. Leading players on the continent like Standard Chartered are comparatively unaffected by the crisis, and when it announced its results last week, Macquarie confirmed plans to build a South African derivatives business.
Rupert Adcock, managing director of Global Career Company, says banks in Africa are very keen on encouraging African nationals currently based in the City or elsewhere to return home to work.
"Banks in Africa are opening up. They're looking for people to work in North Africa - Angola and East Africa - Nigeria," he says.
Adcock is organizing a Careers in Africa Summit between May 22nd and 24th in London. He says there will be 100 banking roles on offer at banks such as Standard Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank and Guaranty Trust.
Most of the financial services jobs at the summit are for the likes of risk managers, corporate bankers and treasurers, but there will also be opportunities for investment and private bankers. You'll need to have work authorization for the relevant countries to be eligible.
Independently of Adcock's event, we spoke to an ex-investment banking VP at one US bank in the City who's left to work in an Africa-focused private equity firm. He said: "My sense is that over the next three years you will see a lot of change in Africa. The credit crunch is not going to be an issue - it's always been a credit crunch in Africa."
