Around The World: Citi's Asian hiring spree; BofA's European fallout
Expect some very generous payouts when Citi Asia fattens up its prime broking team
Citigroup's recent announcement that it is shopping for prime brokers in Asia may seem a little surprising coming in Q3 where hiring is traditionally muted. The bank announced last week that it will raise headcount by 20 per cent to 80 this year in hopes of getting a larger slice of the Asian hedge fund business. The hiring announcement echoes the optimism heaped on Asia-focused hedge funds lately. [Hong Kong]
Who is mostly likely to be eviscerated in Bank of America's impending up-to-10,000 redundancies?
Based on recent contributions to profitability, absolutely no one in the investment bank should lose their jobs in the impending round of job cuts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In the second quarter, the global banking and markets (the investment banking) division made profits of $1.6bn, while the total corporation made a loss of nearly $9bn.[UK]
HSBC Plans to Create Jobs in Canada
The global banking mogul HSBC made headlines when it announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs. That includes 5,000 already in the works following the bank's restructuring in the U.S., Latin America, the United Kingdom, France and the Middle East with another 25,000 layoffs planned by 2013. What may be less obvious is that HSBC is hoping to create some new jobs in Canada.
[Canada]
Todd Edgar's 50% BarCap package was unsustainable, but don't assume you will ever achieve anything better at a hedge fund
Poor Todd Edgar. Poor Todd Edgar's team. In 2009 all 5 of them joined BarCap for what was reputedly a 30m two year package comprised of: - 15m in salaries, bonuses and deferred stock - A share of up to 50% of their profits. [UK]
Will expats go MIA in Singapore?
Singapore has announced stricter rules which will rein in the hiring of white-collar expats. The new measures were sparked off by unhappiness among locals over the competition they faced from foreigners on various fronts, including jobs and schools. [Singapore]
A complete ranking of the world's financial centres in terms of how much you can earn and how affordable they are
A caveat: these figures do not apply specifically to financial services. However, following the revelations that a pint of milk costs a small fortune in Hong Kong, we thought you may be interested in them anyway. UBS has produced some research into the average pay, average price levels and domestic purchasing power in a variety of major cities globally.
[UK]
The mysterious case of China's disappearing fund managers
We've all heard about the dearth of banking talent in China. Perhaps not as well documented is the arduous search for top talent at Chinese fund houses. A recent Ignites Asia article reported that at least nine mainland fund companies have lost general managers this year and are still in the process of filling these vacancies. [China]
Have expat bankers in Bahrain finally decided that it's better to stay?
Despite protestations to the contrary, international financial services firms have started shifting their Middle East HQs from Bahrain to Dubai. First it was asset manager Robeco, which is moving just 12 staff to the DIFC by year-end, and now French bank Crédit Agricole is relocating its 60 or so employees from Bahrain to Dubai. [Middle East]
Give us better work life balance. You can keep your 10k raise
Recruitment in life insurance in Australia is booming, but it's concentrated on junior and mid-level jobs. The seniors, it seems, are mainly moving if they are offered better work-life balance. Demand for life products is increasing and the life sector is underpinning the profits of many large insurance firms as the public becomes more aware of the need to have coverage.
Unlike parent HSBC, Hang Seng won't slash jobs. Here's the (real) reason why it wants to hire badly
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Bank is shopping aggressively for staff. Following a 16 per cent increase in its first-half profit, the firm is now looking to hire another 500- mostly in the front office, for the second half of the year. The bank, one of the largest retail lenders in Hong Kong, has already recruited about 200 personnel in the first half of 2011.
M&A activity booming in Africa, opportunities abound
We have good news if you want to work in M&A in Africa. Investment bankers say that global investor appetite for M&A deals in sub-Saharan Africa is increasing and that the value of deals this year could exceed the record $44bn achieved last year - which in turn was double the 2009 figure. "We expect a pick-up in M&A activity," said Citigroup analysts in a recent research note. [South Africa]
These are the schools that will get you a job in Scandinavian financial services
The Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, and the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, feature heavily in the wish list of most Nordic financial employers. A couple of others jostle for top position, too. Kaare Bringa, managing partner of Boyden Global Executive Search, Norway, considers the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration to be a top destination. [Denmark]
What's happened? Scotland's financial services employees are no longer challenging redundancy decisions
Last year, Scottish financial services professionals had some fire in their belly. Faced with the prospect of redundancy in a tough job market, litigation around unfair dismissal soared. Now, however, the number of cases is on the slide. So, what's changed?
[Scotland]
