eFinancialCareers

Keen to work for a credit ratings agency? They’re looking to beef up their Middle Eastern offices to cash in on the boom.

Standard and Poor’s is the latest ratings agency to set up shop in the Gulf, following in the footsteps of Moody’s, Fitch and the Islamic International Ratings Agency (IIRA).

“Gulf companies are increasingly accessing the global capital markets to address their financing requirements, and recognise the benefits that S&P’s globally-recognised credit ratings can provide,” says Deven Sharma, president of S&P.

Similarly, Jamal Abbas Zaidi, chief executive officer of the IIRA, reckons there’s still a lot of untapped potential in Gulf capital markets: “The GDP of this region is $750bn-$800bn, but capital markets are nowhere near the levels they should be. Equity capital markets have developed somewhat, but the debt markets have just started growing, and they need credit ratings agencies to service them.”

And they’re recruiting. Moody’s has recently placed a vice president and senior sovereign analyst in Dubai, Fitch is looking for an associate director for its corporates team, and the IIRA has numerous financial analyst positions up for grabs.

Not surprisingly, in a region where sukuks dominate the debt markets, the ratings agencies are all vying for pole position in the Islamic finance sector. All the international players operate in this area, but the IIRA says it’s the only agency to offer a Sharia quality rating on top of the regular credit scores.

What do they look for in an employee? Abbas Zaidi says that at a lower level excellent research, analytical and report writing skills are paramount: “For senior positions, I would look for somebody who has 10-15 years’ experience in banks, ratings agencies or a securities firm.”

But credit ratings agencies are often viewed as the poorer cousins of investment banks, with salaries much lower, and the idea of the relative security of the positions was shattered in January when S&P’s and Moody’s announced plans to slash a combined 447 jobs globally.

Bruce Whelan, senior consultant at recruiters Anderson, says: “Ratings agencies are a good training ground. They’re not as fast-paced as investment banks and you have more opportunity to hone your research skills.”

Indeed, as Abbas Zaudi says: “After three or four years, analysts become very attractive material for the investment banks and other industries because of their analytical and report writing abilities.”