eFinancialCareers

Well, maybe not. But retail banks do at least have a business model that's more or less intact. They have also been known to hire people with investment banks on their CVs. The investment-bank-turned-retail-bank-employee of the moment is Stephen Hester, the new chief exec at RBS. Hester spent 19 years at Credit Suisse First Boston as, among other things, global head of the fixed income division. Accountants at investment banks will probably... Read more

The Lloyds TSB union thinks the bank should stop offshoring functions – in return for government support over the HBOS merger. However, industry experts predict that not only is this unlikely, but also that more IT roles are likely to be shipped out going forward. HBOS had planned to offshore 250 permanent IT roles to India, plus 200 contractor positions, by the end of the year. This is in addition... Read more

One thing is becoming amply clear: if Goldman and Morgan Stanley want to go into retail banking they’ll have to reduce leverage big time. And reducing leverage will mean less of several things: prop trading, principal investing and leveraged lending. Deal Journal points out that the respective leverage ratios of Morgan Stanley and Goldman are 34 and 17. Commercial banks usually have ratios something in the region of 15.... Read more

Despite posting the second biggest loss (£691m) in UK banking history, analysts say Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is unlikely to make any more redundancies than those already expected from the integration of ABN Amro’s capital markets division. This morning, RBS posted a pre-tax loss of £691m during the first half of this year after being pounded by sub-prime losses of £5.9bn. Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of RBS, said it had... Read more

Investment banks may be smarting from the credit crunch, but retail banks are still keen to add staff – and candidates from the corporate sector are often top of their list. “Whilst there are opportunities to break into the investment banking and investment management arena, the majority of new hires are going into the retail banking sector,” says Ian Clark, account manager at Hays City. “The credit crunch has... Read more

Back in the days when securitization was a handy way of making money out of mortgage books, several retail banks set up their own teams. The surprise is that several years later, and with securitization as dynamic as a patio plant, several of them still exist. Pockets of (seemingly) undisturbed securitization talent still lurk at the likes of HBOS, Santander Global Banking and Markets (formerly known as Abbey Financial Markets), and... Read more

Which banks and bankers are suffering the most? No prizes for guessing… ACUTE PAIN 1. Merrill Lynch Share price: down 44% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $181.3k, down 25% on 2006. Net profit for the first nine months of 2007: $1.9bn, down 61%. Redundancies: none announced so far, but exit of chief exec Stan O’Neal is imminent. 2. Bear Stearns Share price: down 38% since January 2007. Bonus per head*: $407.6k, down 20% on 2006. Net... Read more

Spare a thought for the classes of 2007 and 2008. It seems investment banking jobs are proving hard to come by. A student at a leading European business school says banks are still coming to present on campus, but that with the exception of Credit Suisse, few appear to have any full-time places left for 2008: “Places have already been filled by last year’s summer interns. If you missed the boat... Read more

Most people sit around passively waiting for the pink slip. Has Stan O’Neal gone for pre-emptive action? Ever since Merrill revealed a $2.3bn 3Q net loss earlier this week, there have been calls for Stan to step aside. Now the New York Times says Stan’s head has moved closer to the block after he allegedly broached a merger with Charlotte-based Wachovia without first getting the approval of Merrill’s board. Putting aside the... Read more

Rising taxes and falling returns are taking their toll on the co-investing craze. “The amended capital gains tax rules will impact people participating in company co-investment schemes that qualify for business taper relief,” says Chris Sanger, head of tax policy at Ernst & Young. “Assets disposed of before 6 April 2008 will be taxed at 10%, while those disposed of from 7 April 2008 will be taxed at 18%.” Co-investing is nothing... Read more

As the dollar falls, so does the allure of taking a job in the Middle East. Last week, the US dollar dropped to an all time low against the euro and three-month lows against the yen and sterling. With the US Federal Reserve expected to carry on cutting interest rates and the US economy suffering particularly painfully from the sub-prime crisis, the dollar's demise is expected to continue. What's good for transatlantic... Read more