Job market news for finance professionals in Middle East | Recruitment news for financial professionals in the Gulf

Qatar banks could create more than 5,000 new financial services jobs this year, with expat bankers in particular looking to move to the emirate. The forecast by recruiter Kinsey Allen has suggested Doha’s financial services industry will employ some 20,100 people by the end of this year, more than three times the 6,200 people employed by the sector in 2006, and significantly more than the 14,900 people working in the industry... Read more

Expats still occupy the lion's share of – and the most well-paid – jobs in the UAE financial sector, even if the industry is relatively progressive in its Emiratisation efforts. However, the lack of appetite to recruit within regional banks may have thrown a spanner in the works. Emiratisation has hit the headlines in the last few weeks, and not always for the right reasons. At the more extreme end of... Read more

Business plans for 2010 are in place, and sentiment around the Middle Eastern financial sector has taken a more positive slant. However, recruitment in the first month of this year remained relatively muted. Arab Banking Corporation has unveiled Dr Khaled Kawan as its new deputy chief executive. He will have responsibility for the group's wholesale banking, universal banking and group operations. The Bahrain Financial Exchange has named Salah Al Abdulla as... Read more

This short video originated with our colleagues in the US. Featuring Cat Miller, eFinancialCareers' response to Maria Bartiromo, it's intended to help you suppress the instinct to be horrible about former/future colleagues in interviews. Watch carefully.

Don't go there.Watch the video.

After the recent turmoil, it's possible that the coming year could provide something of an acid test for the lofty ambitions of the Middle Eastern financial sector. Here's our considered opinion on potential hiring activity in 2010. 2010 could be a good year for: Private equity: The huge volume of 'dry powder', or non-invested capital, that private equity firms in the GCC have been sitting on just gets bigger – the Gulf... Read more

Picking out the positives after a turbulent year for the Middle East financial sector is no easy task. However, here's our considered opinion on who has fared better, and which sectors have suffered. 2009 was a good year for... Sovereign wealth funds: Some comparatively risky investments have paid dividends for the Middle East sovereign wealth funds this year. Most notably the Qatar Investment Authority's $1.1bn profit on its Barclays stake sale and... Read more

Previously, we've been running a feature whereby readers of eFinancialCareers' editorial are able to submit their CVs totally anonymously (and with all distinguishing features removed) for constructive criticism by the community. We'd like to start doing this again. This has happened on three occasions so far, and we like to think the experience has been valuable for both the CV writer and reviewers. The results are visible here, here and here. If... Read more

The perceived stability of the Saudi financial sector has enhanced its appeal as a place to work this year, particularly as the situation took a turn for the worse elsewhere in the GCC. However, with Q3 earnings in the domestic banking sector likely to be subdued, are there really that many job opportunities? Banque Saudi Fransi is the first bank in the kingdom to unveil its third quarter results... Read more

The month of Ramadan is typically a quiet period for financial services recruitment in the Gulf and this year was no exception. Though a handful of new firms commenced new operations, the majority of recruitment was restricted to replacement hires and internal reshuffling. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, the Japanese commercial bank, has started its operations in Bahrain Financial Harbour, 10 months after signing an initial lease agreement. Banque Saudi Fransi has named... Read more

Retail banks in the UAE have been hit hard by reduced income from lending and fees this year, and are looking to cut costs. Sadly, this means there's likely to be little in the way of recruitment, and possibly more redundancies, but some bright spots remain. "After some first movers began to cut costs as early as last year, a larger cost-cutting wave has started to set in," said... Read more

After picking up a bit of momentum over the last few months, financial services recruitment in the Middle East was relatively slow August. Obviously times are tough, but it's also in a large part down to the annual summer lull and the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has named Malik Sarwar as global wealth management executive to lead the team as it targets... Read more

Have you spent months out of the market in the past two years, but managed to get a financial services job again fairly recently? If so, we'd be interested in hearing from you. We're looking for people who can share their experience of losing a job, and the path back to career salvation. If this applies to you, please email us in utmost confidence and utter anonymity at editor_gulf@efinancialcareers.com.

Last week we pointed to the fact that HSBC has expanded its Middle East operations fairly significantly in the last year. It did seem too good to be true, considering the 35% slump in regional pre-tax profits, and now it's emerged that the bank is making 90 people in the UAE redundant. The cuts are relatively minor – the bank employs 4,000 people in the UAE, so it amounts to around... Read more

Kuwait is embroiled in something of a conflict over just how many people have lost their job as a result of the financial crisis, with figures ranging from 904 to 4,500. But while it remains gloomy for local banks, they're somewhat divided when it comes to recruitment far this year. MPs in the country had earlier claimed that 4,500 people in the Kuwaiti private sector had lost their jobs, but the... Read more

On the face of it, the first half of this year hasn't been fantastic for HSBC's Middle East operations – with profits before tax down 35% on the same period in 2008. However, it's increased headcount in the region by nearly 700 over the same period and is continuing to make some significant hires. HSBC's H1 2009 profits were $643m in the Middle East, compared to $990m this time last year.... Read more

In the interest of balance, considering all the recent talk of a Middle East expat exodus, it's worth pointing to a new report which suggests they are still able to live the high life in the region and have no desire to leave. Four GCC states were in the top ten of the latest HSBC Expat Explorer, with Qatar the highest ranked at number two. The survey is, however, based... Read more

Following on from last month's CV review, another brave candidate has submitted their CV for you to offer constructive criticism. Below is their profile (with all personal details removed) and little about their search for new employment so far. Can you offer some tips about where they may have been going wrong and what, exactly, can be improved about their CV? "My preference is to work in the investment banking sector,... Read more

Gulf International Bank's decision to axe nearly 20% of its workforce on Monday, has prompted fears that further cuts could be on the cards and that another three banks are mulling redundancies in the kingdom. The Bahrain Bankers' Union has said that it expects another three local banks to announce redundancies in the next month and that the organisation was preparing to handle a raft of cases from redundant workers. "I heard... Read more