‘Best and Brightest’ Steering Careers Away from Wall Street
Finding eager young talent has never been a problem on Wall Street – at least it never was. The financial sector’s salty reputation and industry-wide pay cuts are starting to take their toll.
Only 2% of students are considering a career in banking, according to Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive at Lloyd’s, citing statistics from survey firm YouGov. Moreover, roughly one-quarter of students said they would be embarrassed to tell their friends and family that they work in banking.
“This is a very worrying result,” said Horta-Osorio. “We want the best and the brightest to see banking as a credible career choice.”
Horta-Osorio pointed to Wall Street’s scarred reputation as the key factor, but stressed that banking – particularly retail banking – remains one of the most satisfying careers available.
The talent drain is no longer just theoretical – banks are starting to feel the pinch. As we reported earlier, nearly nine out of 10 financial services executives find it a challenge to recruit skilled financial services employees.
Sullied banks like Barclays and J.P. Morgan are working hard to put their recent history of scandals behind them. Maybe they need to work a bit harder.
Prosecutors are poised to hand over the names of alleged co-conspirators in the case against Mathew Martoma, the former SAC Capital Advisors trader charged in one of the more lucrative insider trading cases in U.S. history.
Conflicts Have Just Begun (WSJ)
J.P. Morgan shareholders pushing for the removal of Chief Executive Jamie Dimon as chairman are now eyeing board members who may have conflicts of interest with the firm.
Walking Away (Indianapolis Star)
Three board members at health insurer WellPoint stepped down this week. The resignations are said to be for personal reasons, although the firm hired a new chief executive in March.
New York is the fourth most unforgiving state for the unemployed, with benefits as a percentage of income sitting at just 30%. The unemployment rate is north of 8%.
Mark Lyttleton, a former star fund manager at BlackRock, was reportedly arrested last month on suspicion of insider trading. Lyttleton left the U.K. asset manager in March.
There’s No Crying on Wall Street (BBW)
AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche likely won’t be delivering a sunny, cliché-filled commencement address at Alfred University this weekend. His advice to college graduates with trouble finding work: “Don’t cry about it. Deal with it.”
Nearly Failing Grade (Financial News)
Proxy advisor Glass Lewis has recommended shareholders vote against Goldman Sachs’ executive pay proposal. Goldman was given a “D” grade for pay for performance.
Buzz Around the Office
Apparently She Was Out of Nicorette (WKRG)
A Sacramento woman walked up to a deputy sheriff and slapped him in the face with the sole purpose of getting put in jail so she would be forced to stop smoking cigarettes. The first part of the plan worked.
List of the Day: Bad Managers
If you just became part of management, don’t complain about these things. Your employees will resent you.
- The size of your office.
- Flying coach.
- Meetings with C-level execs.
