Around the World: Europe not the place for base salary hikes this year

Risk managers should choose American banks for authority, Europeans for deep understanding.

If you're a risk manager working for a bank in Europe, the chances are that your day-to-day responsibilities differ from your counterparts in the US. But a general need to improve risk capabilities is changing the types of people firms are looking to recruit. [UK]

You will be very lucky to get another increase in your base salary this year

As the Financial Times reported, Mercer has produced some research confirming what has been clear for a while: Europe is not the place to be if you want to receive a cash bonus with limited clawbacks and a short deferral. This is interesting, but more interesting is the fact that Mercer has unearthed banks' inevitable intention of holding salaries constant in 2011.[UK]]

Why Goldman Sachs might want people in Singapore instead of London

There is no guarantee that Goldman Sachs' putative hiring in Singapore will have negative repercussions in Fleet Street. But it might. As we have observed in the past, cutting in London looks like the perfect counterweight to expansion in Asia. Briefly: European banking revenues are stagnating and salaries in London are high. At most banks, Asian revenues are increasing, but more slowly than Asian compensation.

[Singapore]

Three Times As Many Canadian Execs Predict Financial Hires Next Quarter

Over three times as many C-suite executives and HR professionals in Canada's financial services sector anticipate hiring increases in the third quarter of this year as did for the second quarter, says new research by recruiter Robert Half. [Canada]

BMO, CIBC, RBC and TD Named Top Employers for New Canadians

At a time when the Bank of Montreal (BMO) is planning continued expansion in the Midwestern part of the United States, the institution has also been selected as one of the most welcoming employers for newly-minted Canadians seeking work. [Canada]

Asian job title inflation is a very bad thing

Inflation is a key theme in today's economic environment and it seems not even job titles have escaped its influence. Titles are getting longer and grander - every second person I meet in financial services is either some sort of chief, specialist or consultant. At the very least they have a seniority- or management-implying prefix, such as senior, leader or head, tagged onto their title. [China]

The GFC hurts Australians' sense of job security

For those whose lives were hardly affected by the GFC, it is now a fleeting memory. But if you either lost a business, were made redundant or worked for a firm in liquidation, you may not realize just how strongly affected you are until you are faced with a similar situation again. [Australia]