eFinancialCareers

Escalating property prices and double digit inflation might be touted as reasons for failing to attract expat talent to Dubai, but the Emirate has actually tumbled down the world’s most expensive cities rankings. Dubai comes in as the 52nd most expensive city in the world, down from 32nd last year, while Abu-Dhabi is number 62, falling from 45th in 2007, according to a survey by Mercer. The good news for bankers and... Read more

Fund managers’ increased demand for knowledge of complex financial products is a bridge too far for the current GCC talent pool, and firms are looking to investment banks to find the requisite experience. Research by KPMG has found that the appetite for complex products, such as derivatives, is on the up – with 57% of traditional asset managers using them in their portfolios. However, 50% of firms surveyed in the... Read more

Forget the 2,600 investment banking redundancies in its western operations and the $37bn in subprime-related writedowns, UBS is in expansion mode in the Middle East. Having gained a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia, the bank will be moving fixed income banker Mohamed Sammakia over to head the office and is also applying for a licence to set up in Qatar. UBS currently employs around 100 bankers in the GCC and... Read more

Western schools are increasingly offering MBAs in finance within the Gulf in an attempt to bolster indigenous talent. Is this your golden ticket to a top job? The MBA has long been the favoured qualification in the Gulf states and Western schools have been setting up on the ground in response to this demand. The likes of INSEAD, London Business School, Cass University and Manchester Business School have rolled out... Read more

It’s no secret that global investment banks have been bolstering their Middle Eastern teams – often transferring them across from western locations – but now it seems some may have over-egged the pudding and are quietly laying people off. According to Financial News, an anonymous executive from a bulge-bracket bank says the teams may have expanded too aggressively in anticipation of increased commercial activity, without thinking about business models, and... Read more

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification, the mainstay of asset management and sell-side research roles, is fast gaining traction in the Gulf region. Is it right for you? The CFA Institute has 116,000 members worldwide, but charterholders are surprisingly thin on the ground in the Gulf region. There are currently 652 in the GCC – 304 of which are in the UAE – but 4,061 have enrolled for exams this... Read more

It may still be difficult for women to make it to dizzy heights on the career ladder in financial services in the Middle East, but, as these five prove, it’s not impossible… Maha al-Ghunaim MD and chairperson, Global Investment House (Kuwait) Al-Ghunaim is well known in Western markets and recently gained greater prominence: last week she announced plans to raise $500m from UK investors for a Middle East and North Africa... Read more