Thursday's Headlines: London Banking Jobs May Hit 10-Year Low

Banking jobs in London may hit 1998 levels, according, the Centre for Economics & Business Research. Bloomberg reports the UK's financial industry may sink further on concern about the European debt crisis, tougher regulation and higher taxes, cutting an additional 27,000 jobs by the end of the year in London's City and Canary Wharf financial districts to 288,225 positions.

The article quotes a CEBR economist: "With the possibility of further taxation and higher regulation constraining the relative desirability of London as an important financial center, the gap between the rising Far Eastern centers such as Hong Kong and Singapore continues to narrow."

In August, RBS announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs, and HSBC plans to slash 30,000 positions by the end of 2013. The research firm expects the scene to remain constant through 2013, but to see a recovery in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Other News:

Goldman is a logical buyer for Jon Corzine's distressed MF Global Holdings. [Businessweek]

AIG will sell half its stake in the Asian life insurer AIA Group. [WSJ]

MetLife may speed its plan to offload its banking business to escape Fed oversight. [Businessweek]

LPL Financial will cut an additional 100 bank brokers this quarter as it integrates with Uvest. [Investment News]

Bermuda-based Opus Fund Services bought the hedge fund administration unit of San Francisco-based Agile Hedge Solutions. [Hedge Fund Net]

Lazard's Q3 earnings fell 15 percent on a slowdown in stock offerings and restructurings. [DealBook]

Spain's Santander bank says its profit for the first three quarters drop 13 percent on the European debt crisis. [NY Times]

Lawsuits claim BNY Mellon overcharged customers. [WSJ]

Psychologists say the traits banks look for when hiring new traders are the same ones likely to make them go rogue. [Reuters]

Hundreds of struggling community banks could be stuck in the federal government's bailout program. [CNN Money]