Very good reasons why you should be working for a Russian bank

Three European traders are leaving Citigroup and joining Renaissance Capital. Here's why you may wish to consider going Russian too.

1) Russian banks ARE hiring

As we noted just the other day, Russian broker Otkritie is hiring 90 people this year, some of whom are in London.

Nor is it the only Russian institution with expansionary tendencies. VTB Capital has aspirations to triple its presence in Asia over the next three years by opening an office in Hong Kong, adding investment bankers in China, Vietnam and India, and hiring 250 people in total.

Renaissance Capital is also hiring

250 people this year. And Barclays Capital (not a Russian bank) is also recruiting lots of people in Russia, which may encourage Russian banks in Moscow to poach people to compensate.

2) Russian banks will hire non-Russians

You don't have to be Russian, speak Russian, or like borsch to work for a Russian bank. Recent RenCap hires such as Christopher Carter, Nick Andrews, and Gary Lennon are clearly not Russian.

"Russian banks are very happy to employ foreigners. And you do not have to be a Russian speaker," verifies Olga Selivanova at recruitment firm Morgan Hunt.

3) Russian banks are still capable of paying cash bonuses

This may be the best reason to consider the Russian option. As things stand, Russian banks in London are not covered by the FSA's rules regarding bonuses. This may change when the new EU compensation regulations come into effect, but Russian banks are still likely to remain reasonably below the radar.

"A lot of bonuses at Russian banks are in cash," says Tyras Ryybak, founder of website EmergingMarkets.me. "There are some deferrals, but they're usually only 10-20% of the total."

4) They're 'entrepreneurial' and 'aggressive'

According to headhunters recruiting for Russian banks (who may not, therefore, be entirely impartial), Russian houses are the place to be if you want to work in a dynamic environment.

"Russian banks are entrepreneurial, nimble, and strong in fast growing emerging markets," says Mike Goggin at recruitment firm Brookleigh Services. "They have aggressive expansion plans are not bogged down by the issues affecting some of their larger rivals."

Sometimes entrepreneurialism and aggression can go wrong, however. In 2008 and early 2009 Renaissance Capital cut 50% of its staff in London after expanding too quickly.