First came asset write-downs. Then came bailouts. Now, the U.S. government is taking a large, voting equity stake in Citigroup. The chain of events pulling significant pillars of the financial industry from shareholder to government control is coming to look increasingly inexorable. But what does nationalizing a bank do to the careers and compensation outlooks of professionals who work there? Constrained upside will drive producers and senior executives to seek... Read more

Some good news for compliance specialists: The SEC says financial firms shouldn't consider compliance an area for cost-cutting. In an open letter to the chief executives of registered financial firms, Lori Richards, the agency's director of compliance inspections and examinations, admonishes firms to "be vigilant and proactive" in making sure they follow accepted practices. "While many firms are considering reductions and cost-cutting measures, we remind you of your firm's legal obligation... Read more

Does the 40-hour work week law cover Wall Street back-office staff who process trades and resolve discrepancies? And legal niceties aside, could paying workers for overtime ever be put into practice in the frenetic and hyper-competitive securities business? Those questions arise from a lawsuit filed this week against Merrill Lynch and its new corporate parent, Bank of America. Plaintiffs Andrea Levine and Ivey Moore are derivatives settlement specialists who joined Merrill... Read more

You are nearing the end of an interview with a potential employer. It has gone well, in the sense that there were no questions that made you sweat or stutter. At this point, you are suppose to ask the interviewer some questions which bedazzle her with such insightfulness that she will not let you out of the meeting without your signature on an employment offer. But let's for argument's sake assume... Read more

Finding a great job in the financial markets can be challenging in the best of times, but when Wall Street firms announce the kind of headcount reductions we’ve been seeing lately the search becomes down right daunting. And according to a survey eFinancialCareers conducted this month with financial professionals, recruiters may not really help job seekers all that much either. The survey found that while nearly four out of five (78%)... Read more

The expected cost of new regulations being implemented from financial reform was cited at the SIFMA Dodd-Frank impact Analysis conference as one reason banks are reluctant create new jobs. "There's a capital strike going on in corporate America," said Larry Kudlow, economist and host of the CNBC program, "The Kudlow Report." Speaking at the conference, Kudlow went on to say banks are "afraid to take the risk of hiring until... Read more

Most hedge funds lost money last year. So hiring must be in lockdown mode throughout the sector, right? Wrong. "We're looking for all talent related to the hedge fund space," says New York recruiter Kyle Ramkissoon, principal and founding member of IJC Partners (a search firm, not a hedge fund firm). Despite a "huge slowdown" in overall openings and hiring, some fund firms are going against the grain by expanding staff,... Read more

To laid-off financial analysts, the federal government is starting to look pretty appealing. About 400 people - double the tally from similar events last year - have signed up for a job fair in New York later this month featuring recruiters from nine government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the FBI, reports Bloomberg News. The jobs are attractive even though they pay less than private... Read more

Authorities' move to overhaul how derivatives are traded has convinced firms that run futures and options exchanges the future belongs to them, and they're gearing up to hire accordingly. With NYSE Euronext, CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange all neck-and-neck for market share, expect a steady stream of hiring and possibly bidding wars for top talent. “We’ve already been where financial reform is going - on transactions, on clearing, on bringing OTCs into... Read more

Chinese economic expansion is sparking demand for various finance professionals for work within the U.S., says private equity consultant Song Jin. As privately owned Chinese firms move to invest in U.S. businesses and raise capital here, they'll need experienced U.S.-based investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and investor relations professionals, among others. That incipient trend, a by-product of the U.S. financial crisis and recession, marks the flip side of Western bankers' longstanding... Read more

Banks are hiring compliance staff. Compliance professionals are hot. They are paid more, respected more, talked about more. But they still don’t have a clue what’s going on. Fabrice Tourre worked for Goldman Sachs in London. In September 2009, the SEC told Goldman Sachs that it was planning enforcement action against Tourre. This was a huge issue: when it became public Goldman’s share price tanked. Evidently aware of the implications of... Read more

The idea of taking a pay cut is anathema for all working professionals—especially for finance execs used to handsome compensation packages. But many are finding their paychecks and pocketbooks to be much leaner this year. For those impacted by a slash in pay, unlike before, most are choosing to stay put, says Ken Murray, president of Mercury Partners, an executive search practice for front office finance professionals. He says it’s... Read more

The trading debacle at Societe Generale could give a boost to Wall Street's internal watchdogs, the risk and compliance professionals who populate back- and middle offices. In a world of increasingly complex trading vehicles and demanding regulators, compensation, stature and headcounts within departments that oversee trading activity are already on the upswing. The latest events will likely accelerate the trend, even though SocGen's rogue trader constructed his phony futures positions from... Read more

If there is ever a poignant piece of advice that university lecturers and textbooks failed to warn me about upon graduating and entering the workforce, it is the fundamentals of office politics. Not long after finding my feet in my new professional environment, I learned pretty quickly that sometimes it’s the brownnosing and “who you know, not what you know” ticket that guarantees movement up the corporate ladder. I have... Read more

Crain's New York Business argues Wall Street job losses have been exaggerated. Citing recent data from the New York Department of Labor, the newspaper says only 19,000 financial services jobs have disappeared from the Big Apple since August 2008. Sure, three of the five largest investment banks are gone, and Citigroup and AIG are now wards of the state. And yes, there has been severe contraction, including painful job cuts, especially... Read more

You may be tired of hearing that it’s a buyer’s market when it comes to jobs in the financial markets. And these days it’s not only the employers who aren’t responding to job applicants. Recruiters haven’t been on their best behavior either. In fact, candidates are complaining that when it comes to common courtesies, such as returning phone calls and following up with interviewees with advice on why they didn’t... Read more

As evidenced by the s economic crisis, there hasn’t been much substance behind risk management in the financial sector in recent years. Well, change is coming. A recent capital markets technology survey from Aite Group highlights the potential role engineers will have in this increasingly important area. According to InformationWeek: Risk management ranks near the top of Aite Group’s technology survey every year, but it clearly has been more talk than... Read more