The top investment banks are split on adopting new rules on bonus payments, with only some such as Citigroup, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs following them as outlined. [WSJ] Bank of America plans to reduce headcount further in 2011. [Charlotte Observer] UBS has added staff to rebuild its fixed income, currencies and commodities businesses. [Financial News] An ongoing federal investigation reveals that hedge fund consultants willing to pass on confidential corporate information are sometimes earning double... Read more

As China slowly loosens its control over financial operations, there are predictions of a flurry of jobs opening up in banking and investment services on both the mainland and Hong Kong. Wall Street and a number of UK and Swiss banks have made inroads, but state control has tempered their success. Nonetheless, expectations remain high. A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey notes that by 2013, foreign banks in China expect to increase jobs... Read more

Banks looking to push into Asian fixed income could be doing some substantial hiring in the next year, since the sector is one of the few debt markets showing positive growth even as global banks face a growing challenge from ambitious local dealers. A recent survey by research firm Greenwich Associates found that while fixed-income trading activity in Europe and the U.S. slowed in 2010, in Asia trading volumes were generally... Read more

Take a quick look at foreign exchange market turnover, and it's easy to see where the new job opportunities are opening up. There's always going to be intermittent hiring at bulge bracket firms and global banks given the risk strategy. They're always going to need FX traders, trading strategists, risk pros, and algorithm and platform developers not to mention experienced professionals with quant skills. But according to data from the Bank... Read more

If you're an energy trader, it's a safe bet that you're a bit worried about your job. Overall, due to tech and the big players taking over, there's fewer jobs. Plus, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is just about ready to announce position limits for physical commodity derivatives as mandated by Dodd-Frank. That, and expected regulation in the EU, is sure to shake things up. "There's been some downsizing already, but... Read more

Fixed income trading isn’t necessarily seen as the sexier side of trading. For the most part, fixed income guys and gals haven’t seen bonuses on par with those on the equity side of the game. But right now, as stock market volume and inflows stagnate and money pours into bonds, the market for fixed-income traders is looking up. A number of the smaller shops, as well as many of the... Read more

While the once hot market for fixed income jobs has lost its spark, high yield trading is on the uptick. But is it a good time to flock to this side of the business? Given its boom and bust nature, it's hard to say how long the ride will last. There’s certainly a whiff of desperation to start up desks, but don’t move from a choice spot on the lure... Read more

JPMorgan hired former Cantor Fitzgerald exec Irvin Goldman to help in its capital markets business. [Bloomberg] Nomura appointed Gregg Fatzinger as Managing Director and Head of Consumer Retail for the Americas. [Reuters] BMO Capital Markets named Ilias Konstantopoulos as Head of Investment & Corporate Banking. [Marketwatch] Macquarie named Tim Gould as head of its US equity markets division. [

Describe your career path. I graduated with a degree in economics from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. While there, I had two internships in finance, one with a bank in Portland, Oregon and the other in Maryland. After graduation I was accepted into a training program at a financial institution, which included work in credit as well as time on the firm's federal funds desk. At that time, both... Read more

A study by The Wall Street Journal indicates the days of an Ivy league degree being the key to success everywhere may be over. But not on Wall Street. Ivy Leaguers remain perched atop the pecking order. Jobs in investment banking, for example, are still dominated by those from elite academic institutions. A Harvard MBA or a degree from Wharton remain the best way to gain entry into firms like Goldman... Read more

With all the talk of layoffs and pay cuts, who'd think investment banking has actually been growing these last few years? Apparently, that's the case. Financial News says the industry today is "more concentrated and more efficient." It has higher margins - 38.8 percent pre-tax, on average, compared with 37.1 percent in 2007 - and a higher return on margins than it had before the credit crisis hit. Revenues in the... Read more

Describe Your Career Path. I graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of commerce degree in economics and accounting. After graduation, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in its audit group, working in both Kuala Lumpur and Toronto. During this time I became a chartered accountant. While I enjoyed what I was doing I realized that what I really wanted to do was help companies look forward and to grow. I moved... Read more

Equity researchers are on the rise [Japan] Foreign firms in Tokyo are beginning to increase their equity research hiring. And though much of the current activity is for replacements or upgrades, recruiters are hopeful that some serious expansion might be just around the corner. Get set for a fixed-income talent fight [Singapore] The People’s Bank of China’s recent announcement allowing RMB held offshore to be invested in its domestic bond market is... Read more

Banks in China need more techies [China] Banking IT professionals are in demand in China. Standard Chartered is, for example, hiring for roles including CSS technical managers and senior technical analysts. But firms have high standards about the type of people they want to take on. ECM picks up again, but talent is scarce [Japan] ECM recruitment has been picking up in Tokyo. Question is: will it stay that way? Oh to be... Read more

JPMorgan's getting out of proprietary trading to comply with new curbs on investments banks. Those on the commodities desk have reportedly been told they'll be out of work - less than 20 traders are affected there, and only one of those is in New York, the rest are in London. The bank is also reportedly considering close the fixed-income and equities desk, where another 50 to 75 employees work. [Bloomberg] Finra... Read more

HSBC strengthens Asian equities team [FinanceAsia] HSBC added three executives including Chetan Patni, managing director and head of execution and sales trading in India, Gerardo Pablo, head of program trading for Asia-Pacific, and Sung Choi, head of international equity sales. RBC Dexia Investor Services hired David Dibben to lead its global fund products group. [Finalternatives] Adarsh Sinha picked to head Asia Pacific G10 foreign exchange at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.... Read more

Wells Fargo is getting back into the commercial mortgage-backed securities that helped fell Wachovia Corp., the bank it bought in 2008. Wells Fargo has added more than 20 bankers and support personnel over the past three months to increase loan originations and bundle them into CMBS. It now has 70 to 80 employees devoted to underwriting and packaging loans for securitization, down from a peak of 120. Other firms moving... Read more

The reality of weak top-line performance at the largest investment banks is belatedly sinking in, raising concerns staff cuts could hit late this year if industry-wide volume and profits from trading don't pick up within a few months. Over the past 12 months, many global institutions aggressively rebuilt trading and investment banking teams they had cut back during 2007 and 2008. They were rewarded with healthy profits in the second half... Read more

UBS Wealth Management Americas taps Tony Roth to lead new wealth planning and investment strategies group. He retains his current role as leader of portfolio advisory team [Investment News] Wachovia Global Securities Lending hires Citi's Ansell as SVP of sales for EMEA in London, Wells Capital Management's Buffum as regional sales executive in Chicago, ad State Street's Riffelmacher as marketing manager in Short Hills, N.J. [Wachovia Global Securities Lending, via BW] Bank... Read more