2023-05-19 09:05:13
* Previously unreachable talents are coming to market
* Banks compete to attract the best profiles
* Faced with the banking crisis, staff are looking for more security
by Sinead Cruise
LONDON, May 19 (Archyde.com) – A slowdown in financial operations, recent bank failures and the followingmath of Credit Suisse’s emergency takeover have suddenly turned the tables on recruitment for Europe’s financial services industry. .
UBS’s takeover of its historic competitor Credit Suisse has prompted banks in the region to opportunistically approach high-level executives affected by the merger between the two Swiss banks, according to headhunters.
On the other side of the equation, recruitment firms say they receive more CVs from finance workers who fear being ousted by these new recruits.
“Europe is in the process of lifting the hiring freeze and in some cases discovering that exceptional talent, once untouchable, can now be recruited,” Jeanne Branthover, managing partner at DHR Global in New York, told Archyde.com.
“It’s pushing companies in Europe to reassess their own staff to see if they live up to the new standards of the remarkable talent that has suddenly become available.”
According to eFinancialCareers, applications for positions in financial services rose 67% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
Among the latest appointments in the “star” profiles of finance, the head of mergers and acquisitions for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region of Credit Suisse, William Mansfield, left for Deutsche Bank while his former colleague Cathal Deasy joins Barclays to co-head the investment bank.
TALENT ON THE MARKET
These appointments come at a time when mergers and acquisitions and IPOs are experiencing a marked slowdown, which is weighing on the income of investment banks.
At the same time, thousands of employees at UBS and Credit Suisse are wondering regarding their future in the context of the merger of the two banks which might lead to job cuts.
In this context, companies implement skills assessments, identify the personnel necessary for their growth and identify the shortcomings of their current employees compared to other people likely to be recruited, indicates Samantha Pusey, manager of offers and marketing at recruitment consultancy The Curve Group.
“We’re seeing people in senior director and vice president positions, who probably weren’t open to new opportunities, are now coming into the market and flooding it,” she observes.
Smaller financial companies should also benefit from this increase in job seekers, following having struggled to compete with their more powerful rivals in recent years, said Darren Burns, chief operating officer at Morgan McKinley.
“Over the past two years, significant hiring needs and skills shortages in the financial sector have led large companies to pay fortunes to recruit talent, resulting in a 20 % to 30% of salary offers”, he explains.
“Smaller or less prestigious groups are now able to compete and attract the best talent”.
LOWER THE COSTS
This upheaval in recruitment should weigh on salaries and bonuses in the medium term, but for the time being, banks are ready to pay dearly to hire big names in finance, even if it means reducing back-office functions or positions that are not in contact with customers to find financing, the sources say.
While looking for new talent, several banks are in the process of reducing their workforce in certain activities to limit costs.
This is the case of Morgan Stanley or even BNP Paribas, which is making voluntary departures. Deutsche Bank has planned to cut 800 jobs out of a total workforce of 87,000 in order to reduce its costs by an additional 500 million euros.
The failure of several regional US banks, which has raised fears of a domino effect across the industry, has also prompted some finance workers to seek greater security, the sources said.
Some have asked to meet with CFOs to better understand the financial health of their potential employers, says Duncan Finlayson, director of finTech and financial services at Raines International.
“There is no doubt that even the most established financial services platforms are subject to greater scrutiny.” (Blandine Hénault for the French version, edited)
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