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... Read more

Despite a candidate-driven market, it seems local banks in the Middle East have not been pushing the dhow out far enough to attract staff. A senior local recruiter in Dubai says that as a result they are losing staff to the international banks as compensation becomes more focused on bonuses. Some of the newer regional players are throwing big numbers to retain or attract talent, “but you have to if you... Read more

Just how easy is it for Western women bankers to land jobs in the growing financial centres of Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar? Not very, according to some headhunters, who weren't overly keen on being drawn on the subject. "This is too close to the bone," was a common response, although we were told by one London-based headhunter that he'd recently placed a woman and there had been "no issues". Scratch the surface,... Read more

Compliance professionals are about to become a hot commodity in the Gulf. Right now, headhunters say only the biggest banks like HSBC have large compliance departments in their Gulf operations. But this is all set to change as smaller banks adjust to new international banking regulations. “Local banks have to increase their demand for compliance people… I expect the market is going to grow very quickly,” says Samar El Gazar, managing... Read more

Dubai’s expanding financial services sector needs lawyers to grease its wheels. “There is an ever-increasing demand for financial lawyers in Dubai,” says Nicholas Lloyd, managing director of executive search firm Hogarth Davies Lloyd. "There is a significant amount of work emanating from within the region which in turn has seen more and more law firms setting up in the region." In previous years, most of the legal work in Dubai was handled... Read more

Wall Street bankers are now paid on a par with colleagues in Asia, Dubai bankers saw the biggest pay increases in the last bonus round, and London’s bankers clearly came out on top. Top bankers in the UK received compensation increases ranging from 17% to 22%, according to the latest survey from financial services search firm Napier Scott. In the US, the average figure was 10% to 15%. By comparison, bankers... Read more

Dubai is doing its best to encourage banks to hire more nationals. It won't reduce demand for overseas talent, say recruiters. The Human Resources Development Committee for the financial sector says the programme, known as 'emiratisation', is intended to drive more than 200k United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals into employment – with many of them going into the financial sector. The aim? To ensure half of roles are filled by local employees... Read more

How long are you planning to stay in your job? Dubai recruiters say staff with itchy feet are a real and growing problem. “A few professionals are now investing in short term staff due to the high turnover,” says one local mortgage broker. “In the last year alone, at least five of my colleagues have left.” Investment banks appear to be suffering a similar problem. Lehman Brothers chief Richard Fuld says 20%... Read more

The dollar might have hit new lows last month, but that’s not stopping Gulf employers hiring new staff from Europe. Companies need specific skills and if they have to pay more for them, that’s what they’ll do, recruiters say. The mighty dollar’s drop against the euro and sterling has left employers in the Gulf – where currencies are dollar-linked and pay agreed in dollar sums – forking out more to offer... Read more