eFinancialCareers

The rumour doing the rounds in risk circles is apparently that risk bonuses are going to be spared the ravages of the market. “Risk has been ring fenced,” says David Butter, of risk recruitment firm GRS Consulting. “Most people expect bonuses to be slightly down, but not nearly to the extent of other areas. Some operational risk teams have had the best years of their careers.” Needless to say, such... Read more

Given the events of the past weeks and months, any self-respecting risk professional, trader or banking cleaner can now expect to be assailed by the same nasty question at interview: “What went wrong?” At least, this is what recruitment firm Robert Walters says in its latest market update. Paula Maidens, a director of financial services at the company, elaborates: “Banks want to know what controls candidates would put in... Read more

Way, way back in March, stung by criticism of its handling of Northern Rock, the FSA declared its intention to up its intake of former bankers, including quant types to work on its frontline supervision teams, focusing “on the complex models used by banks to gauge financial risk” (FT). Its timing was impeccable. With thousands of banking employees subsequently let go and Lehman’s entire risk, compliance and trading teams on... Read more

Morgan McKinley, the bastion of middle and back (plus some front) office recruitment in the City, released its latest monthly employment monitor today. The results are either depressing or gently heart warming, depending upon your state of mind. The depressing news is that job vacancies were down a chilling 32% in August 2008 versus August 2007. The gently heart-warming news is that the number of people registering for new... Read more

Dresdner Kleinwort bankers may be quaking in their Church's, but some people can still count on a relatively secure future. And they are... Finance and risk professionals While everyone was on the beach last month, Financial Services Authority chief exec Hector Sants called for banks not to slash too many middle and back office staff because “Firms' valuation processes and controls have become increasingly stretched and in some cases... Read more

To the ‘big swinging dicks’ hauling in the revenues on the trading floor, it might seem obvious that they’re paid more than the bank's back-office staff. But a new report suggests this imbalance is unfair and should be rectified. A wide-reaching 176-page study by the Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group – whose members include Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Morgan Stanley – says that the contribution operations and risk management staff make... Read more

Just in case last week’s pay porn for risk managers wasn’t enough to satisfy your curiosity, here we have another risk salary (and bonus) survey from recruitment firm PSD Group. The conclusion of this one? Market risk is hot, credit risk is not. The accompanying write-up (which we are not displaying), talks of talent shortages in commodities and equity derivatives. Director market risk, Salary range: £100-150k, Average bonus: 80-100% VP market risk,... Read more

How much can a lowly risk professional earn in this day and age? Try £300k for a European head of credit and £100k for a mid-ranking credit risk professional with three years’ experience, according to a salary survey courtesy of risk recruiters GRS. The overall conclusion? Work in a hedge fund. Credit risk management pay in investment banking 2008/2009 European head of credit risk: Average salary: £150k, average... Read more

The latest piece of research from Morgan McKinley doesn’t make great reading if you’re trying to find a new job. According to the recruitment company’s latest monthly missive, there are now 2,900 more bankers looking for jobs than there are jobs to be had. Unsurprisingly, given the circumstances, the average banking salary is down 5% year on year, while senior banking salaries are down nearly 10%. The... Read more

Performance measurement in asset management houses is coming out of the doldrums, and salaries are heading northwards. The performance measurement departments of fund managers are stereotypically seen as the refuge of number-crunching geeks assessing the viability of investments, but change is afoot. Oliver Hinchliffe, senior consultant at Project Partners, which has just completed a salary survey of the sector with i-Performance-Analysis.com, says: “Heads of performance are increasingly thinking more strategically about... Read more

Neglected at bonus time, investment banking risk managers are apparently very eager to work for hedge funds. Lee Bevan, a consultant at hedge fund specialist Mirage Recruitment, says there’s been a noticeable uptick in the number of investment banking risk professionals with a penchant for working on the buyside. “We’re seeing a lot more risk managers saying their bonus wasn’t very good and they want to move to a hedge fund,”... Read more

Everyone who’s anyone is on the lookout for senior risk hires. Is now the time to drop a little business blood into the mix? Aside from paying risk managers a lot more money, hiring ex-traders and senior business heads to keep risk in check seems a sure route to increasing the authority of the risk function. As with all good ideas, some banks are on to it already. Morgan Stanley, for... Read more

Commiserations if your bonus was down – most were apparently static or up. That may not hold true at UBS. Research from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley suggests a hefty 43% of people in the City received bonuses that were equal to last year’s payouts, and 37% saw a rise. A mere 20% were paid down. Even if your bonus was in the depreciating minority, it may not be a fortuitous moment to... Read more

Will SocGen’s rogue trader with ‘deep knowledge’ of its risk control procedures make it harder for middle-office staff to move to the front? The Financial Times reports that the rogue individual, who made losses of €7bn on European stock futures and mortgage write-downs, was able to get away with it thanks to an awareness of risk control gained from his time in the middle office. Nic Leeson was similarly endowed... Read more

Forget layoffs, write-downs and diminishing profits, the average banker is confident of a nearly 9% increase in bonus compared to last year. At least this is the finding of a survey by recruitment firm Joslin Rowe. Some 500 financial services professionals (most of them likely to be in the back and middle office, given this is JR’s speciality) told the company they expected bonuses to be up 8.9% on last year. Tara... 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