eFinancialCareers

Bahrain has created a new private banking licence to give a nudge to its wealth management industry. It’s liable to increase competition for staff. “The licence is aimed at encouraging international and leading regional banks to offer sophisticated wealth management services,” said Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Bassam, the Central Bank of Bahrain’s director of licensing and policy. But does the Middle East really need another incentive to encourage wealth managers? An October... Read more

Dubai accountants are to be offered the chance to earn the British ACA accreditation locally for the first time. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) reckons rapid expansion in the Gulf has driven an increased need for qualified accountants, which has prompted it to set up shop in the region. So far, the ICAEW has been in talks with the Gulf branches of the big four accounting firms... 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

So is Dubai a major global financial centre (and a great place to develop your career)? Not according to a new survey. The second report from the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) suggests Dubai falls outside the top 20 global financial centres and ranks behind the likes of Toronto, which is hardly known for its financial prowess. The good news is that the desert city doesn’t have far to go before it’s... Read more

The landmark US$3.8bn DP World flotation could see the IPO floodgates open in Dubai, and that could generate increased demand for ECM professionals in the region. Earlier in 2007, Ernst & Young predicted US$18.3bn of IPOs in Dubai this year, but we’re a long way off that right now. Until the DP deal, there were just five ECM deals on the Dubai International Stock Exchange (DIFX) this year, representing a meagre... Read more

Middle East state investment funds are flexing their financial muscles globally. What are the chances of getting a job for one? In recent weeks, the Abu Dhabi government has bought into US private equity group Carlyle, and the Qatar Investment Authority has bought into Swedish exchange OMX. Last year Dubai bought control of ports company P&O (including its Australian operations) as well as hotel company Travelodge. As regional sovereign funds expand their... Read more

The rising cost of living and strong demand for specialist skills are forcing banking pay up by as much as 40% a year. “Demand for investment bankers, structured finance professionals, and client relationship managers has driven the dramatic increase in compensation over the last three years,” says Alex Cormack, director and head of Middle East at headhunters Sheffield Haworth. In exceptional cases, headhunters say senior management packages have increased from US$1.5m to... 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 shoppers... Read more

The Middle East's global asset management aspirations are fuelling fund manager recruitment. With the likes of ING Investment Management rushing to open offices in Dubai's International Financial Centre, fund managers are flavour of the month. Raed Sater, a partner at Edward M. Kelley & Partners, says there's been a surge in demand for asset managers in the past 18 to 24 months. Sater says investors are increasingly sophisticated and the region is... Read more

Equity researchers are in for some good times as their demand soars in the UAE and Middle East. Morgan Stanley has created a Dubai-based equity research team to bolster its Middle East operations. The team will be lead by Sean Gardiner and will be joined by three new hires: Mai Attia, Marwa el Sheikh and Tamman el Barbir. Analysts at management consultancy company McKinsey said in a June report on the Gulf... Read more

HSBC is boosting its UAE legal team – and it's not the only one. "Competition is tough in the UAE and we're all competing for good lawyers. We need to respond to the growth and the level of activity," Melika Betley, Head of HSBC's UAE legal department told website Thelawyer.com. Betley said the bank is particularly keen on unearthing derivatives and fund lawyers for its UAE operations, "because these are the... Read more

Forget the credit crisis, a rush of listings on Gulf stock exchanges bodes well for equity capital markets jobs in the region. Figures collated by business information portal Zawya.com, suggest 66 companies are likely to list on the Gulf stock markets in the final six months of 2007 – including Kingdom Holding, DP World and Saudi-based Inmaa Bank. Ernst & Young, meanwhile, estimates over US$18.3bn (Dh67.2bn) will be raised through 63 IPOs... Read more

Domestic banks in Dubai have found a new way of stopping their staff from quitting. Tired of seeing their employees quitting for more money after bonuses are paid out, it seems local banks in Dubai are tying staff in with long contracts (and more money) instead. It's no secret that employees in the city are a fickle bunch and that talent is scarce. However, in contrast to the bonus buyout tactics... Read more

Project finance specialists are in such short supply that the oil-fired trajectory of Middle East infrastructure investment runs the risk of crashing. Local recruiters say there are simply too few experienced project finance people to plan, oversee and execute the US$1.3 trillion worth of oil and gas, petrochemicals or infrastructure schemes lined up by GCC governments and companies between now and 2012. Barbara Van Meir, director of financial services at WoodHamill Ingram,... Read more

Employment opportunities for investment bankers are increasing in the Middle East, as cash-rich local companies look for buyouts or mergers to build their international reputation. It's a trend that's creating opportunities for global investment companies. Goldman Sachs, for example, is poised to reap US$11.3bn in advisory fees from a multi-billion dollar mega-merger in the Middle East. Goldman, which moved into a new Dubai office in March after gaining a banking licence last... Read more

Gulf countries are on the hunt for risk managers as the deadline for implementation of the Basel II accord looms. The UAE Central Bank has announced phased implementation of the Basel II accord, with banks expected to be compliant with at least the standardised approach for credit risk by 31 December 2007. In the second phase, the UAE banks will be compliant with internal ratings based approach for credit risk by... Read more

There are still plenty of Middle East-focused staff who are based elsewhere and fly in and out for meetings. When JPMorgan appointed a new telecoms, media and technology banker to cover the Middle East last month, it did so despite lacking an established investment banking presence outside Saudi Arabia. Mehmet Abbasoglu, a one-time head of investment banking at Merrill Lynch in Turkey, will be based in London and join a long... Read more

Fancy working in Ras Al Khaimah? Now's your chance. A recent report in the Khaleej Times suggests over 1,000 companies may move to the new Ras Al Khaimah Financial City. Jobs are likely to follow. "The financial city is expected to create thousands of jobs as it strives to become a financial services hub," says Dr Imad Haffar, chief operating officer of Rakeen, the real estate arm of the Ras Al Khaimah... Read more

Costs may be rising, but you can still make more money working and living in Dubai than in London. Life in Dubai is 40% cheaper than London and 12% cheaper than New York. But salaries for senior bankers are often on a par and bonuses are rising to match. Even in those sectors where pay is higher in London, it may only be just enough to offset the cost differential. For... Read more

Step aside Dubai, Qatar also wants to become a regional financial services hub. Last week, Qatar and Dubai teamed up to create a new US$1bn investment vehicle to look at regional investment opportunities. The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) regulatory authority recently granted Citigroup a banking licence to open a corporate branch, while Barclays got the nod in September. The banks will have their offices in the QFC headquarters in Doha. The chairman... Read more