International investment banks are hiring juniors in the Gulf again

Optimism appears to have returned to the Middle East investment banking sector and international institutions are hiring again in anticipation of an upswing in activity.

After Thomson Reuters figures showed a flurry of M&A activity in the first quarter, a report by hedge fund Al Masah Capital has added to the sense that a rebound is on the cards.

M&A activity is likely to have surged by 64% in the second quarter of this year (from admittedly depressed 2009 levels), it says, with deal value expected to have reached $13.6bn.

Banks have already unveiled some senior strategic hires recently.

HSBC named Mohammed Al Tuwaijri as head of global banking and markets for the MENA region; Zubaid Ahmed joined Citi as vice chairman of its institutional clients group; BarCap hired both Makram Azar for SWF coverage and Michael Helou as head of its MENA financial institutions group; RBS added Hamed Kazim to its global banking and markets team, and Standard Chartered unveiled Christos Papadopoulos as its new Middle East chief executive.

"After a tough 12 months international investment banks can again see the need to make strategic senior hires," says Bill Allum, managing director of headhunters Execuzen. "This isn't a hell for leather process, but banks are either laterally hiring to gain closer access to the big regional investors or looking to upgrade their existing talent."

More importantly, for the majority of regional investment bankers - firms have an appetite to add to their junior ranks again.

"In the past few weeks, the biggest volume of roles we've had is for analyst and associate level hires within international investment banks," says Jonathan Gould, financial services consultant at iQ Selection in Dubai. "In some cases, banks are doubling headcount, while others are only adding 2-5 people, but most firms are in hiring mode again."

He adds that most banks are still being "incredibly picky" about who they take on, demanding Western-educated Arabic-speakers with local experience in a bulge bracket investment bank.

And, despite the fact greater deal volumes are in Qatar and Saudi, the majority of hires are based out of Dubai.

Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley are all understood to be looking to recruit junior staff.