eFinancialCareers

International financial services firms are flocking to the Gulf like bees to honey, so in the first of our monthly round-ups of significant moves and new offices in the region, we give you a bite-sized review of what’s been going on throughout this month. Russian banks have been busy, with the country’s second largest bank, VTB, announcing plans to open a Dubai office. Its larger rival, Renaissance Capital, was said... Read more

Asset management firms are vying for business from the cash-rich sovereign wealth funds, which are struggling to manage their rapidly increasing cash piles. However, this doesn’t mean SWFs are any less keen to recruit staff in-house. “Sovereign wealth funds have got too much money too quickly and are struggling to manage it,” said John Nugée, head of State Street’s official institutions group and a managing director of State Street Global... Read more

Expansion is the name of the game for regional banks in the GCC. They are increasing headcount and salaries so rapidly it’s even affecting their bottom line. The latest round of quarterly reporting makes for interesting reading, and not just because of the often double-digit increases in profits. In most cases, they are spending around twice as much on staff as they were this time last year. Shuaa Capital’s Q2... Read more

US staff fearing the chop are increasingly scoping out opportunities in the Middle East. Over the last year more than 20,000 US financial professionals have been axed, according to US payroll company ADP. And things only look to get worse, with Bloomberg unleashing the pessimistic prediction that 175,000 finance jobs will go over the coming year. US bankers are understandably looking for alternatives and it seems Dubai is one of... Read more

With the likes of UBS, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse all heavily increasing their presence in the GCC recently, it’s easy to miss the raft of job opportunities at a number of Europe’s smaller financial institutions. This week Intesa SanPaolo, Italy’s second largest bank behind UniCredit, opened in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) to focus on corporate and trade finance, structured finance, project finance, investment banking, treasury services and... Read more

Armed with a Masters in Finance degree and industry experience, Western graduates from the class of 2008 are looking to the Middle East as an increasingly attractive option. Should you be worried? The cost of a Masters in Finance (MiF) at London Business School comes in at a hefty £29.7k ($59.4k). After such an investment, and with a dearth of job opportunities in the West, it’s understandable that graduates should... 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

International asset managers are beginning to set up investment teams on the ground in Dubai and are tapping local talent for them. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that regional experience automatically makes you a potential target. ING Investment Management established itself in the Dubai International Finance Centre this month and hired Farah Fousak as chief investment offer from the National Bank of Dubai along with three colleagues for the investment... 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

The UAE banking sector has had no shortage of commentators singing its praises over Emiratisation. But are the local banks living up to the hype? While international banks like Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered have been singled out for their Emiratisation commitments, most of the multinational firms in the freezone of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) are exempt from the quota. The onus is on the local banks, who have take... Read more

Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is set to embark on an international shopping spree and is doubling its headcount to prepare for this push. The $10bn Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the kingdom’s main investment arm, has so far limited its investments to the GCC – with the exception of a 30% stake in Formula 1 racing team McLaren – but has ambitions for international acquisitions. As a result it’s looking for 25... Read more

With healthy profits last year, and plans for up to 20% rise in assets, the Bahraini banking sector is suddenly looking like a more attractive place to work. The liberalisation of Bahrain’s investment laws has seen the assets of Bahrain’s banks rise by over 30% in 2007 to $285bn, according to a report by Securities and Investment Company (SICO). It anticipates another 20-25% per annum over the next three years. What’s more,... Read more

Financial services firms in the GCC are set to increase their headcount by 30% in the next few years, and up to 50,000 more jobs could be created. A study by Hewitt Associates shows that banks in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Jordan are laggards when it comes to recruiting enough people to cope with increased levels of business. As a result, they’re set to splurge on staff. “Being... Read more

Reason dictates there should be a rush of asset management hiring in the GCC – local fund managers have posted stellar revenues, and international firms are setting up in the region. But while sales and marketing roles are in demand, firms are holding off taking on portfolio managers. Global investors’ ample appetite for GCC assets is demonstrated by some recent results. Shuaa Capital’s asset management division saw an amazing 636%... Read more

Hedge fund inflows have been tipped to increase fivefold in the Middle East, and firms are scrabbling to ship Western expertise out to the region as well as find talent on the ground. Gilles Rollet, chief executive officer of fund manager Mirabaud (Middle East), thinks the hot air surrounding hedge funds in the region will turn into substance, and there will be five times as much investment in regionally based funds... Read more

Pay in the Middle East is spiralling. It now makes up almost 60% of banks’ operating costs. A survey by consultancy Hewitt Associates suggests salaries in Oman and Qatar lead the way when it comes to eating into banks’ profits. But pay across the Middle East banking sector is becoming a problem – particularly when you consider that the average US bank aims to keep compensation costs below 50% of... Read more

Jobs are plentiful, talent is scarce, competition is fierce and fickle financial services professionals in the Middle East are now changing jobs every seven months. The skills shortage in financial services in the Middle East is well known and it seems bankers are using this to their advantage – bolting after bonuses and shifting jobs for extra cash or a better position. Speaking at a recent conference, and citing headhunter... Read more

Losing your job is never nice, but in Dubai it’s a particularly horrible experience – especially if you’re an expat. The root of the horror is that both residency and the right to work for expats working in Dubai’s finance industry are dependent on sponsorship by the employer. If you’re laid off, this goes up in smoke and you have 30 days to leave the country, unless a new employer... Read more

Rules forbidding the issue of stock options to expats in the Middle East are a major deterrent to foreign talent, so are banks offering any alternatives? The concept of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) is a standard part of compensation packages in developed financial markets like the UK and US, but laws in the Gulf mean that expat employees are forbidden from owning stock in local companies. Lynda O’Mahoney, senior... Read more

It might be wise not to be too rude to a financial headhunter scoping you out for a job in the GCC – it could be the bank itself in disguise. EFG-Hermes, a Middle Eastern investment bank, has revealed that it has its own in-house team of headhunters, which it claims is both a cheaper and a safer option. Declan Ball, global head of corporate human resources at EFG-Hermes, says:... Read more