eFinancialCareers

If the misfortune of selecting Lehman Brothers as your employer straight out of an expensive MBA course weren’t enough to deal with, some members of Lehman’s associate class of 2008 say they’re now being stung for the $40,000 sign-on bonus the bank paid them when they arrived. The requests are allegedly coming from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is administering Lehman’s estate in the UK. “More than 60 percent of my class received this... Read more

A public library program on researching companies and potential contacts tops our weekly rundown of low-cost and free events of interest to financial professionals. All the following events take place in New York City. *** New York Public Library's Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL) offers free classes to help job-seekers research companies and locate individuals to contact for job leads. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 3:15 p.m. "Job Seekers Contact Research." Science, Industry, and... Read more

Are complaints that Goldman Sachs overpays its employees finally trickling from Main Street up to Wall Street? Yes, says Friday's Wall Street Journal. Some of the firm's largest shareholders have urged Goldman to reduce the size of its bonus pool, the paper reports. "Their complaints in private conversations with the company and at analyst meetings show how anger over its big-money culture is spilling into the ranks of investors who typically... Read more

Compensation at U.S.-based private equity funds is declining broadly for the first time in more than a decade, a new report shows. The 2010 Private Equity Compensation Report by Glocap Search and Thomson Reuters finds pay growth "has come to a halt with total compensation now trending down" across all segments of the market – including buyout/growth equity, venture capital and private equity fund of funds. Among specific findings: - Established... Read more

While careers related to restructuring corporate debt have been in the spotlight, Thursday's Wall Street Journal spotlights an ongoing hiring boom for the retail equivalent: jobs restructuring home mortgages. Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo have collectively hired almost 17,000 people this year, mostly to work with financially ailing homeowners, the Journal says. More important: "With the number of defaults rising, many are planning to keep adding... Read more

Networking your way to a job is hard, but it works. A CNNMoney story this week offers a road map. The article traces the path to re-employment for Ebony Blue, a 24-year old Ithaca College graduate laid off from Citigroup's investment banking division in December, 2008. Although she made contacts through a diversity network, the essential tactics she used can also help job-seekers who lack such access. Blue put in heavy-duty... Read more

Securities industry employment in New York City bounced strongly in September, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says in a report issued Tuesday. However, the reported pickup apparently stems from a statistical adjustment that isn't performed on similar data covering states and cities published each month by the U.S. Department of Labor. Citing a strong profit recovery by Wall Street, the comptroller's report forecasts job losses in the securities industry in... Read more

The prime brokerage business is broadening out, creating career opportunities as smaller U.S. brokers enter the space. The sector is groping toward a new structure more than a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers led to months in limbo for billions in client assets Lehman had administered. Counterparty risk remains a major concern, which makes for a natural affinity between the largest fund firms and the largest and financially strongest... Read more

The suggestion government-regulated pay will put a damper on Wall Street's ability to attract talent is playing out in the executive offices of Bank of America. The involvement of pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, who'll have to approve the compensation of whoever takes the job, was a sticking point in at least one failed discussion, with William Demchak, senior vice chairman of PNC Financial Services Group. The Wall Street Journal says Demchak... Read more

With financial institutions' hiring widely expected to pick up early in 2010, it's worth thinking about which skill areas are most in demand in the post-crisis landscape. The following rundown is based on my off-the-cuff impressions, gleaned through speaking with headhunters and professional colleagues and keeping tabs on news and rumors about sell-side and buy-side recruiting plans. FIG Bankers While the worst of the financial crisis appears to have passed, it will... Read more

For any professional or middle manager, getting a decision-maker in your company to approve your project proposal can be a tall order. That goes double if the idea is a risky one, market conditions are unfriendly, or you're dealing with a slow, reluctant decision-maker. But it’s not impossible. Utilizing forethought and a dose of pop psychology can dramatically raise your odds, says leadership and communications coach Mike Figliuolo, in a post... Read more

Independent equity research has been a double-edged business niche at least since the Spitzer settlements six years ago. Now the sector's ambiguous position – you could even call it schizophrenia – is coming to a head. Citing data from consulting firm Integrity Research Associates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports that the number of independent research firms in the U.S. has soared to 2,667 from 1,012 in 2006. But the crowded field appears... Read more

If your bank was acquired and you'd like another go at running one, here's a new avenue: raise money through a blind pool to acquire failed institutions seized by the government. Says The Wall Street Journal: "Firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are racing to form investment pools that plan to fund acquisitions by the bankers, who hope to leap into the auction process for failing... Read more

Here's the latest banking-recovery data point: One in three businesses globally says it's "likely" or "highly likely" to acquire other companies in the next 12 months, according to a new Ernst & Young report. And a full 25 percent expect to do so in the next six months. That's great news for M&A bankers (although only if one assumes the market consensus estimate of next year's merger activity didn't already exceed... Read more

Are leveraged buyouts and the bankers who facilitate them springing back to life? UBS says so – and recently put money where its mouth is by hiring two senior bankers for its financial sponsors group. The credit crisis nearly vaporized this segment of investment banking when PE firms lost their ability to borrow 80 percent of a deal's value. Since the crisis began, the M&A business that's been done has been... Read more

AIG Chief Executive Robert Benmosche says he's had enough of government bureaucrats expecting him to revive the troubled insurance conglomerate with both hands tied behind his back. So, he "shocked" board members last week by threatening to resign three months into the job, The Wall Street Journal reports. He's said to feel that pay restrictions imposed by White House paymaster Kenneth Feinberg make it all but impossible to retain talent... Read more

Is the pendulum beginning to swing back toward a candidate-driven job market? Wall Street compensation consultant Alan Johnson thinks so. He predicts financial services hiring will accelerate in the first half of 2010 and will give new life to "transferrable skills" – a widely used euphemism for a professional's capacity to enter a market sector or function in which the job-seeker lacks direct experience. With a broad range of financial... Read more