Morning Coffee: The 35 year-old every bank wants to hire. Bad bonus news

Who is the most desirable banker of them all in January 2015? According to the chief executive of a global financial services search firm, it's not a person but a type. The most desirable banker of the moment possesses three crucial characteristics.

Firstly, he/she is not too old - mid-30s is about right. Secondly he/she is a revenue generator. And thirdly he/she probably works in trading (or maybe even sales).“The war for talent is going to heat up this year because everyone wants this 35-37 year-old who can make $200m in revenues, whether he’s in credit trading or rates trading,” Michael Karp, chief executive of search firm Options Group, told the Financial Times.  With trading revenues under pressure, Karp said banks are going all-out to hire experienced traders who can actually make money.

Separately, as bonus announcements approach (this Friday for Goldman Sachs and Citi according to Financial News), bonus speculation is intensifying. Contrary to December's reports that trading bonuses at Citi would be stable compared to last year, the Wall Street Journal reports that bonuses in Citi's markets division will instead decline by 5-10% after a difficult December. This sounds like particularly bad news for Citi's equity researchers who were said to be particularly unhappy with their bonuses last year. It does, however, explain why Citi has been jettisoning staff ahead of bonus time. 

Meanwhile:

2,000 jobs could disappear as RBS retreats from Asia. RBS employees on the continent are mostly involved in foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity trading, as well as debt capital markets, financial advisory and bank financing services. (Financial Times) 

RBS is selling non-UK businesses as it tries to boost capital. (Bloomberg) 

J.P. Morgan won't announce bonuses until January 22nd. Bank of America will wait until the 29th. (Financial News)

Pay for traders at J.P. Morgan is expected to fall by 15%. (WSJ) 

Why M&A bankers won't get paid as much as they think: 'Mergers and acquisitions and equity underwriting enjoyed a good year but these bankers never suffered the same bonus cuts as traders so they should not expect a big rebound in payouts.'  (Financial Times) 

Revenues at Goldman Sachs International increased 45% in the first half of the year and UK-based deal-makers are expecting to get paid as a result. (Sunday Times) 

Senior bankers pull their weight: Andrea Orcel (chief executive of UBS investment bank) and Michael Sherwood (co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs International) themselves worked upon Santander's €7.5bn overnight rights issue. (Financial News) 

UBS has lost two thirds of its corporate broking clients in the UK. It says this was part of a deliberate effort to focus on key clients. (Sunday Times) 

If you're fearful for your fixed income trading job at Commerzbank, you can always move to Bank of America. (Bloomberg) 

Judith Shepherd, one of the most senior lawyers at Barclays, is leaving. (Financial Times) 

Cass business school graduate turned trader at Man Group talks about his investment mistakes. (The National) 

"I never considered another career. I have wanted to earn a living as an investor since my early teenage years. For me this is the best job in the world." (Telegraph)

How to handle the narcissists in your midst. (Entrepreneur) 

Yes, I’m blonde. And yes, I attend MIT. (Quartz) 

There is a significant relationship between psychological distress and sitting down all day. (Inc)