MF Global Holdings Chairman and CEO Jon Corzine has resigned, less than a week after the firm declared bankruptcy. “The resignation capped a disastrous week for Mr. Corzine, as he saw MF Global lose two-thirds of its market value, file for bankruptcy and face a handful of federal investigations into more than $600 million in missing customer money,” DealBook writes. “The decision also signaled a rapid downfall of what was... Read more

Wouldn't it be great if... - The national debt was repaid - The interest and capital repayments on the national debt were now spent on lowering taxes and raising public spending instead - The private sector expanded and employed more people - The unemployment numbers were reduced and so was the social security bill - The public finances were in balance - The banks did what the public consider to be... Read more

Internal recruiters in investment banks do not like search firms. They consider them expensive, duplicitous and delusional. And they would like to renegotiate their fees. No internal recruiter is going to say any of this on the record. Off the record, however, is another matter. “Search firms seem to be stuck in a different era,” complains the EMEA head of recruitment at one bank. “They’re still being extremely bullish and are... Read more

As we’ve said, there appear to have been a few issues in Bank of America’s sales and trading business recently. Normalized FICC revenues were down 91 percent year-over-year in the third quarter. William Wright at Financial News points out that of the 14 senior managers named in November 2008 to run Bank of America/Merrill Lynch's markets division under Tom Montag, six have left the firm, four have moved internally and... Read more

ING, the Netherlands’ largest financial services firm, says it will cut 2,000 positions and 700 contractors at its retail bank, news media are reporting today. The firm says the cuts will create $412.4 million in annual savings starting in 2014 and help it prepare for leaner times ahead, according to Bloomberg. The news came on the same day that ING posted a steep jump in third-quarter earnings, a jump partly... Read more

Editor's note: This article first appeared on our Australian site but applies here as well. There’s sometimes criticism from candidates on this site and others about the quality of service you’ll receive from recruitment consultants. Much of this criticism is justified. Recruitment is a sales-based industry which works on behalf of clients, not job seekers. We manage candidates who are at particularly vulnerable stages of their lives when they are looking... Read more

Have you ever had a sports injury? If so, you’ll know that taking some action in the first 48 hours plays a key part in minimizing damage and speeding your recovery. Whether you’ve strained a muscle, damaged some ligaments or incurred something more serious, it will help if you rest, apply ice or compression, elevate the area, take anti- inflammatory drugs or see an expert such as a physiotherapist. Taking these actions in... Read more

When it comes to handing out raises these days, companies are being downright stingy, but employers may be a lot more flexible than you’d expect when it comes to helping you repay your debt, a former Labor Department official and president of an educational organization for young Americans tells eFinancialCareers. The group—Arlington, Va.- based Generation Opportunity—recently issued survey results showing that young Americans today are delaying major financial and life... Read more

Wall Street’s tight job market isn’t poised to rebound anytime soon. The Wall Street Journal reports that industry executives and analysts expect the current reductions to be longer-lasting as banks brace for a future of tighter regulations, rocky markets and sluggish economic growth. Recently announced cutbacks include 1,500 positions slashed at Nomura, 3,500 jobs at UBS and 1,000 workers at Goldman Sachs, as well as Credit Suisse warning its 50-person... Read more

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods is cutting its staff by 13 percent and CEO John Duffy is stepping down following a cancer diagnosis. [WSJ] Freddie Mac CEO Charles E. "Ed" Haldeman will step down during the coming year. [CNN Money] Former Mercer CEO M. Michele Burns was elected to Goldman's board. [DealBook] BofA hired Morgan Stanley managing director Glenn Koh to lead equity derivatives

If you have at least three years of experience working with clients, as well as experience in financial planning, Bank of America is looking for you. As we reported yesterday, BofA is building up the unit, known as Merrill Edge, which services its mass affluent clients, those with between $50,000 and $250,000 in investable assets, by hiring over a thousand Financial Solutions Advisors, or FSAs. David Giancola is BofA's Merrill Edge Southeast... Read more

Middle-market investment bank FBR Capital Markets—which may be getting ready to cut as much as 35 percent of its workforce—has suffered from straying from its financial institutions group (FIG) roots and from trying to expand prematurely into fixed income, a recruiter told eFinancialCareers. “FBR, going back to its beginnings, was very financial services-focused,” observes veteran recruiter Richard Lipstein of Boyden Global Executive Search in New York. But it experimented heavily in different... Read more

MF Global’s bankruptcy filing is throwing into question the futures of some of Wall Street’s most experienced bankers, according to Bloomberg. MF Global's CEO, Jon Corzine, who helped run Goldman Sachs from 1994 to 1999, added about 800 employees including a number of top investment bankers, as he tried to remake the broker into an investment bank. Bloomberg reports that the recruits included Michael Stockman, UBS AG’s former chief risk... Read more

In the good old days, when strong candidates could dictate the terms of employment, midcareer professionals expected some sort of relocation assistance. But in today’s economic climate, the employer has the distinct advantage. And the change in the relocation kickback couldn’t have come at a worse time. More finance professionals are considering moves far beyond their original job searches, given the downturn in the job market. A new research report... Read more

Bank of America today announced the hiring of more than 25 Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisors (FSAs) across the Southeast region, including Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville. It's all part of BofA's expansion of the division that offers financial advice to mass affluent clients, or those with between $50,000 and $250,000 in investable assets. FSAs manage investment and banking solutions. The most recent hires are part of Bank of America's plan to nearly... Read more

Wealth management sales professionals wanting to advance in rank and compensation must be willing and able to take on the nuts-and-bolts duty of prospecting for clients, Florida recruiter Dave Moran told eFinancialCareers. Moran, a partner with Experienced Advisors Recruiting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., points to a newly-released Registered Rep magazine survey showing that only a small percentage of advisor sales assistants are interested in becoming full-fledged financial advisors even though sales... Read more

Big Four Financial Advisors: Pack your bags. Consultancy Cerulli Associates expects that the number of advisors at the four biggest wirehouses will drop by 6,800 over the next five years, following the current trend of departures on lower assets managed and a push for higher profit margins, according to an Investment News story. Between 2007 and 2010, the number of advisors employed by MSSB, BofA, UBS and Wells Fargo fell... Read more

Non-British financial services professionals in London earn more AND are better educated Once in a while, a glimmer of xenophobia flickers across the comments left on this site. European financial services professionals in the City are accused of being “Eurotrash,” as in, Glasgow's not that bad. Less Eurotrash for a start... Those comments may well originate in jealousy and resentment: non-British employees in the City are higher paid and better educated... Read more

An agreement on a sovereign debt write-down certainly isn’t welcome news for traders sitting on a sovereign bond desk. As the banks and EU agree to write down 50 percent of Greek bond debt, the market is taking a long and hard look at just what will come next. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is taking a wait and see approach, noting that, for the moment, the event... Read more

As some analysts count the days left at Jon Cozine’s MF Global fund, some rank-and-file employees remain committed to the brokerage, according to a DealBook article today. According to the article, within MF Global’s offices in Midtown Manhattan, the mood among the rank and file has been tense but defiant. Many employees have been working through the night talking to clients concerned about the speculation about the firm. The firm’s chief executive,... Read more