Around the World: Trouble in Denmark; Qatar's rising star
Danish banks facing a grim autumn
It's probably going too far to get all Shakespearean and suggest there's something rotten in the state of Denmark, but for ambitious bankers - or even just those keen for a bit of job security - the picture is unarguably grim at the moment.
[Denmark]
It's official: Qatar is the new place to be in the Gulf
One of the side effects of the Arab Spring has been a gravitation of financial services professionals toward safe havens in the Gulf, notably, Dubai and Qatar. However, according to a new survey, Qatar is now the most reputable Gulf financial center in the eyes of the international community. While banks are talking up expansion in Doha, Dubai continues to slide down the international rankings. [Middle East]
Why you may or may not want to work for one of the Chinese banks that's hiring in London
Chinese banks have big plans for London; they're currently examining the plausibility of hiring hundreds of investment bankers in the UK. As we've mentioned previously, there are a number of Chinese banks already in the UK - Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), while the Agricultural Bank of China last year moved into a plush new London office. [China]
GUEST COMMENT: London is one of the worst places in the world for expats, so if I'm sick of it, how do my foreign colleagues feel?
I'm a Londoner born and bred. I was born here, went to university here and worked here throughout my career. All my close family live within a two-hour drive from where I live in Zone One. I'm the guy you depend on when the office party gets thrown out of the restaurant for being too drunk, who knows a drinking spot that's open until 3 a.m. [UK]
Other UK cities have the potential to lure asset servicing business; should Scotland be worried?
Scotland has developed a good reputation for asset servicing over the last few years; jobs are being created and new firms continue to set up north of the border. Yet it still lags behind both Ireland and Luxembourg, and could other UK cities yet prove to be a threat?
[Scotland]
International banks' EMEA graduate hiring plans for 2011
No one is about to deny that it's a tough year for graduates with aspirations to break into investment banking. We've mentioned previously that a disproportionate number of full-time vacancies (particularly in the front office) have been allocated to this year's interns and that fears that the current problems could extend into 2012 are making banks increasingly wary about extending graduate offers. [Middle East]
Why don't banks in London bother with applications from Indian candidates?
It's not a particularly politically correct question, but it's a reasonable one to ask - recruiters in London tell us they get thousands of applications from candidates on the subcontinent, but almost always disregard them. If you're an Indian applicant, this is clearly annoying - especially as many banks have off-shored elements of research and pitchbook construction to Mumbai.
[UK]
Battle of the private banks: international versus regional players
Even in the relatively buoyant wealth management sector, international banks have taken their foot off the gas when it comes to expansion. Now, however, they're facing some tough competition retaining people from high-paying regional players. From a career perspective, what are the advantages of working for each? [Middle East]
Post Kweku, it should still be possible to move out of the middle office
The combined efforts of Nick Leeson, Jerome Kerviel and Kweku Adoboli, each of whom used or appear to have used (it's too early to say definitively in the case of Kweku) their knowledge of back office systems and processes to perpetrate rogue trades, all suggest one thing: no more moves out of the middle office and into the front office.
[UK]
Here's what DBS is doing about retention: Interview with COO Samantha Mark
Last week, 90 final-year university students from Singapore got the low-down on what it's like to work at DBS. They visited the firm's trading room, its youth-oriented branch at *Scape and its back-office center, DBS Asia hub at Changi Business Park. But beyond grooming rookie talent, the firm is also big on retention. Samantha Mark, chief operating officer of DBS Singapore, spoke to eFinancialCareers on the sidelines of the event. [Singapore]
Scottish fund managers are still keen to hear from distribution professionals
In the current climate, investors are more wary, new assets are harder to come by and clients are more likely to pull money from fund managers. The result is a renewed focus on recruiting distribution specialists, rather than portfolio managers, in firms north of the border. A case in point is Aberdeen Asset Management. [Scotland]
HSBC Canada Confirms Brokerage Sale and Intent To Grow Remaining Businesses
HSBC Holdings PLC confirmed that following the sale of part of its advisory business to a unit of National Bank of Canada, it will continue to invest in and hire for other parts of its Canadian business. Nevertheless, on the same day that HSBC announced the sale of its retail brokerage, its global banking and markets division did lay off a small number of bankers.
[Canada]
Allegations of expenses fraud and other reasons why you will now be let go without any redundancy pay
Whatever you are doing, ensure that it cannot in any way be construed as manipulating your expenses. Recruiters say people are coming to them who have been fired from banks for seemingly spurious reasons, meaning their previous employers can avoid paying them off.
[UK]
