Lunchtime Links: SocGen has been doing A LOT of M&A hiring; Africa will make Asian growth look pedestrian

SocGen hiring in M&A is nothing new. It began its M&A recruitment drive two years ago. Strangely, it's still going on.

Bloomberg reports that SocGen has hired 15 'senior M&A executives' since June alone and that it plans additional hires in such places as Turkey and the Middle East.

SocGen's hiring because it aspires to be among the top 10 M&A advisors in Europe by 2015. It appears to be succeeding: so far this year, SocGen ranks 9th in European M&A compared to 32nd four years ago, according to Bloomberg. Nevertheless, the newswire has unearthed someone (at RBS) who claims the outcome of all the M&A hiring so far has been disappointing.

Separately, Renaissance Capital remains enthused about Africa. Bloomberg has been talking to its CEO Stephen Jennings. Jennings says RenCap plans to invest, "several more billions" there over the coming years. He also predicts that Africa will, "deliver the fastest growth in the world, faster than Asia has ever done."

South African bank Investec might move its structured finance and acquisition finance businesses out of the UK. (Financial Times)

Suddenly, Credit Suisse is a force to be reckoned with in M&A. (Wall Street Journal)

UBS has poached a new co-head of FICC emerging markets from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. (Finance Asia)

UBS has hired a new head of global energy banking from Morgan Stanley. (New York Times)

Nomura's got a new ECM head in Australia. (WSJ)

...and a new head of its Americas business. (Financial News)

British banks are being told off by the government for not making the loans it requested as a condition for the avoidance of a new bonus tax. (Financial Times)

Glencore increased 4.4% on the offer price. (Financial Times)

LinkedIn increased by 171%. (Financial Times)

Glencore's top 6 executives made $23bn yesterday. (Bloomberg)

LinkedIn's former CEO made more than $1.5bn. (Bloomberg)

SJ Berwin briefly offered its lawyers 75% of their basic salary to reach a social-life destroying discretionary target of 2,500 hours per year. (Guardian)

Self esteem has at least as large an effect on earnings as cognitive ability. (Science Direct)