eFinancialCareers

Good(ish) year

Hiring managers at Chinese banks

After years of being a third or fourth-tier choice for HK high-flyers, mainland banks in Hong Kong are at last able to pick a few cherries. Chinese firms will be trying to take on talent left high and dry by redundancies the globals. And recruiters reckon candidates aren’t so snobby anymore about working for the likes of BOCI, CCB and CICC.

Grad jobs at the Big 4 in China

If you want a junior job next year, you might be better off as a bean counter in China, rather than a banker in HK. Accountancy firms are ramping up recruitment in China. KPMG, PwC and Deloitte each plan to take on thousands of graduates there next year. KPMG alone wants to hire 1,650. But why the surge for students if IPOs are in decline and economic growth in China is expected to slump well below the 8% mark in 2009? Number crunchers are still in demand in downturns because they are able to adapt and make their services more appropriate to the tougher times. Forensic accounting, restructuring and insolvency all heat up as markets go down.

Mandarin speakers

On the i-banking front, the most sought-after professionals have M&A experience, speak Mandarin and have local contacts. In the blunt words of one headhunter, who asked not to be named: “if you don’t speak Mandarin, I won’t even bother passing on your CV.”

M&A pros with Chinese deal experience, will still be in demand, says Richie Holliday, managing director of Morgan McKinley’s Hong Kong office.

Governance-centric jobs

Compliance positions will continue to be in high demand in 2009. Risk management will thrive across all areas, especially market risk. Areas like clearing and custody might also do comparatively well because most clearings have market-makers as clients, not hedge funds, says Matthew Hoyle, director of headhunter Matthew Hoyle International.

Stress management therapists (working in Central)

Your colleagues have been fired, but guess what? Someone still has to do all their work. “Increasing demands on staff, resulting in longer and longer hours-worked and hence higher stress levels, will start to put pressure on companies and we envisage some higher turnover rates as we progress through 2009,” says Andrea Williams, Hong Kong managing director at recruiters Ambition. This should keep Hong Kong’s therapists and shrinks busy next year.

Bad year

I-banking salaries

Getting a pay rise will be a real surprise in 2009 as downward pressure on salaries intensifies. Banks will take advantage of a candidate glut, especially in junior to mid level roles, says Williams. “Candidates across the back office can expect salaries to remain relatively flat in 2009, and we are sure some will face potential decreases,” she adds. Even joining a new firm won’t bring the usual salary spike. Movers should only expect the same rates as 2009, says Emma Charnock, regional director of recruitment firm Hays in Hong Kong.

Private banking compensation

Private bankers can no longer expect to receive sign-on bonuses except in very rare cases. Many guaranteed bonuses have been replaced by target-driven bonuses related to the net-new-money that a relationship manager can bring to the bank, thus giving employers more of a safety net, says Jack Bennett, director of search firm Lion Rock international. “Further to that, a private banker can no longer expect much of an upside to their basic salary – many will be happy to get a similar basic to their previous bank.”

Risk takers

It won’t be a good year for those who thrive on financial risk taking. Most high-risk and credit-related jobs are likely to be subdued in 2009 as liquidity continues to drain from the world markets. “Risk aversion, limited leverage ability and high borrowing costs are likely to keep the LBO, syndication and IPO sector subdued for most of the year,” says Emma Charnock, regional director of recruitment firm Hays in Hong Kong.

Q1 and Q2

Who knows what will happen redundancy-wise in the second half of 2009, but one thing’s for sure: early 09 will be a bloodbath in Hong Kong. Credit Suisse is already gearing up for more layoffs and other banks will be cutting back in Jan/Feb after they reveal Q4 results. “Hiring volumes in the first quarter of 2009 are likely to remain at fairly suppressed levels. At least for the first three to six months of 2009, it is unlikely that there will be an increase in demand for sales/traders or investment banking candidates in general,” says Holliday.

Credit-crunched banks

“Banks who continue to receive negative press due to their exposure to credit related products will struggle to hire the top candidates until they can show they are in no danger of following Lehman and Bear etc into insolvency,” says Bennett.