eFinancialCareers

Local GCC banks don't pay as well as international rivals, but that may be changing.

Russell Adam, a consultant at London-based search firm Akamai Financial Markets, tells us, "If you're on an expat package, it can definitely be beneficial to work for an international bank. However, your career may progress more rapidly at a fast-growing local house."

Gareth Clayton, a director at search firm Charterhouse Partnership in Dubai, says local banks are the place to be if you want to work in corporate and retail banking – while the international banks rule the roost in areas such as investment banking and wealth management.

International banks with expertise in mega-infrastructure projects are also expected to trounce local firms in the rush to work on the US$1.2 trillion in infrastructure and industrial schemes lined up by Gulf governments.

But Clayton adds that in the UAE and Qatar local banks are "stepping up to the plate" with the money to attract the people they deem desirable.

Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital seems to have been splashing out, for example. A recent 27% drop in profits was attributed not only to the fall in IPO activity but to a 30% increase in its workforce.