Editor's Take: Rise of the MABIA bankers

I've been talking to headhunters this week about mature Australian bankers in Asia (MABIAs for short). These are experienced front-office folk, perhaps in their fifties or late forties, who are doing a stint in Singapore or Hong Kong later in life.

Perhaps a bit belatedly, they have realised that the region represents the future of finance. And on a personal level, with their kids at boarding school or university, they and their spouses finally feel free to relocate.

But for some MABIAs the real motivation to move is if they face a flatlining career at home, especially those at international firms which are shifting their decision-making functions to Asia.

Sydney and Melbourne are comparatively small investment banking markets where, in the words of one headhunter, "everyone knows everyone". Opportunities to progress your career past a certain point can be limited.

The larger banking hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong are emerging as the places to earn that (perhaps final) promotion to a truly influential, international position. Ambitious bankers of a certain age in Australia are increasingly telling their recruiters that they are open to working there.

"It's a changing mentality - we are coming to realise just how important Asia is. A lot of these people have worked in London during their early careers and they now see no reason why they shouldn't go overseas again," says one Melbourne headhunter.