Lunchtime Links: It's not as easy to get rich in London

25 June 2009

2 minute read

Lunchtime Links: It's not as easy to get rich in London

So much for moving to London to make money. A new survey from HSBC suggests expats in London find it harder to amass wealth than expats elsewhere. Globally, around 73% of expats said they saved more money on their international assignment than they did at home; in the UK that proportion dropped to around 48%. And although 8% of expats globally said they saved less money while overseas, in the UK the percentage saving less was 27%. Their difficulties saving seem to have something to do with the high cost of food, entertainment, transport and housing here.

UBS considering outsourcing 5,000 IT jobs to India. (Wealth Bulletin)

"...saying that all banking is corrupt or is there for personal enrichment. It's not true." (The Times)

'Bab' (bonuses are back) is the new City 'buzzword.' (The Guardian)

Should there be outrage over Citi pay rises? (Deal Journal)

Mervyn King is disappointed about bank remumeration. (Bloomberg)

Slaughter & May earned 22m advising the Treasury. (Financial Times)

Credit Card securitizations go the way of real estate. (Financial Times)

Number of people with $30m to invest down 25%. (Financial Times)

Europe's very best strategist quits SocGen. (Bloomberg)

I can't, off the top of my head, think of a single government regulation over the past couple of decades which has remotely harmed Goldman Sachs. (Felix Salmon)

I don't know what this post means. It came to me in a vision this morning. I guess I'm trying to go beyond words. (MoneyistheWay)

AUTHOReFinancialCareers UK

Insider Comment

Ty
Tyler
26 June 2009
Its the financial centre of the world. Its like hollywood, dreams are made here..it doesn't matter if you win, as long as your playing the game..
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fr
fromthefloor
25 June 2009
who wants to be an average city worker...
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He
Henwee
25 June 2009
This is no surprise. Scratch below the hubris and the reality is City pay is not all that good. Factor in the long hours (4500+ per year), the crazy tax burden (50%+), and the silly costs-of-living, and it soon becomes clear that, in real terms, on a per-hour basis, your average City worker gets paid little more than your average plumber.
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Ba
Basil
25 June 2009
Henry? In Singapore? How did that come about? When I spoke with you last week I presumed you were still in the Big Smoke?
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He
Henry
25 June 2009
To be honest right now in Singapore I'm not saving massively more than London given the much higher costs for drinks, meals etc. However its the principle - I'm happy to know 40%+ of my hard-earned pay isn't being watered away by an incompetent government. And the quality of people here is much better, being a banker remains something widely admired and respected.
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