GF
THE UAE ADVISER: Prove to the business that you’re not a cost centre
The attitude towards HR among the upper echelons of Middle Eastern financial institutions is so antiquated it wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of the Flintstones. Shortly before Christmas I sat in on a senior management meeting at a large regional financial institution. When the HR director suggested that his division should be [...]
GUEST COMMENT: I quit banking for baking and I have no regrets
Anyone working in the financial sector in Dubai doesn’t need telling that it’s currently a tough time, particularly for those in a broking function. The lack of trading volume has hit many firms hard – the number of brokerage firms in Dubai has halved over the past year – and few institutions have the wherewithal [...]
THE ADVISER: Bankers are losing the art of caring for the client
Ask anyone working in the Middle East banking sector what’s key to success in the region and they’ll tell you the same thing; relationships. Whether that’s wealth management, investment banking or retail banking, knowing your clients and keeping them sweet is integral to getting ahead in the region. However, on the retail banking side, it [...]
Does BarCap need to make a lot of redundancies too?
BarCap and RBS have a few things in common. They are both British banks. encumbered by the UK’s banking levy and Vickers legislation. They both have investment banking arms. And they have both engaged in building up those investment banking arms very considerably in recent years. Global banking and markets (GBM) headcount at RBS went [...]
ELI LEDERMAN: The end of rewarding careers in finance? Not so fast
For a generation now, jobs in finance have topped the wish lists of young people at universities around the world. When word spread that financial firms would visit campus on recruiting missions, eager applicants jostled to secure coveted interview slots. Perceived as wealth-creation machines that stamped tickets to some lavish lifestyle, the global investment banks, [...]
Wealth management looks set to be hot sector in the Gulf next year too
If you’re in a position in the Gulf financial sector where you could feasibly leverage your contacts or technical expertise to work in wealth management, the message seems clear – do so immediately. If you’re already working there, just sit back and enjoy the ride. The relatively voluminous amount of recruitment within both regional private [...]
GUEST COMMENT: Investment banks switching to retail banking is an experiment doomed to failure
Much of the focus in Bahrain this year has been on the fall out from the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising and the subsequent damage to the kingdom’s financial services industry. However, I have noticed a disturbing (yet low key) trend; failed investment banks are transmogrifying into retail banks. This does not exactly bode well for the [...]
GUEST COMMENT: How, and why, I decided to switch from investment banking to private equity
Investment banking in the Middle East, much like in other areas of the world, is going through a tough time. Many international institutions have been scaling back in the region, while large local organisations have been making redundancies and re-evaluating their capital markets and investment banking operations. The state of investment banking in the Middle [...]
GUEST COMMENT: If you’ve lost your job in the Middle East financial sector, it’s your own fault
Losing your job is one of the most traumatic experiences people can go through, but if you’ve been made redundant in the Middle East financial sector over the last two years, let me spell out one home truth for you – it’s your own fault. Most people feel a deep sense of shock and despair. [...]
GUEST COMMENT: I’ve served my time in the Middle East; take me back Asia
The financial world is ablaze again at the moment – market turmoil, downgrading, interest rates. Chaotic for all in working the industry. But haven’t there been enough market dips in the last three years? I was living and working in Asia in 2008 at the time of the most recent major crash. Life was good. [...]
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