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

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

Finance professionals are often put off by the idea of a video interview with an employer. However, the use is growing. If you happen to be the lucky one getting ready to setup the webcam, here are some words of advice from Dave Falardeau, director of 10K Financial Recruiters, on how to ace the interview. • First, acknowledge that a video interview isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While it might seem impersonal... Read more

Job hunting in this market takes a little extra effort. Here’s how to stand out. 1) Get networking By being well-networked, you’ll not only be able to tap into the "hidden" job market, but you’ll also be giving yourself a real advantage over other candidates, says Andrew Hanson, director, financial services, Robert Walters. “Your network should include anyone who can assist you with a job search or career move –... Read more

Accordion Partners has begun actively seeking investment bankers with tech, media and telecom experience wanting to do project-based work for software and technology firms, the company’s chief operating officer, Andrew Blechman, told eFinancialCareers this week. Accordion—which has been making a name for itself by offering project-based work to investment bankers who support private equity portfolio companies, I-banks and other companies requiring limited-term consulting services—observes in its latest client newsletter that... Read more

Regulation is once again reshaping the financial markets, courtesy of Dodd-Frank. Swap execution facilities (SEF) are ramping up operations in anticipation of the growing need to move swaps trading to an open and registered electronic platform. Today it's the dealers and third party players who are entering the SEF marketplace. As SEFs are sure to add personnel, it’s the techies that are ruling the roost. Platform developers and designers are... Read more

Banking jobs in London may hit 1998 levels, according, the Centre for Economics & Business Research. Bloomberg reports the UK’s financial industry may sink further on concern about the European debt crisis, tougher regulation and higher taxes, cutting an additional 27,000 jobs by the end of the year in London’s City and Canary Wharf financial districts to 288,225 positions. The article quotes a CEBR economist: “With the possibility of... Read more

J.P. Morgan Natural Resources fund manager Ian Henderson is stepping down after 20 years. [The Telegraph] TNK-BP, half-owned by UK oil major BP, announced that deputy CEO Maxim Barsky will leave the company after failing to be promoted to CEO. [WSJ] BofA CEO Brian Moynihan lost a key member of his inner circle Monday when PNC hired Mike Lyons as its head of corporate and institutional... Read more

Making the transition from the exam-based culture of college to the corporate culture of investment banking is not as easy as it may seem. Success means applying the technical knowledge acquired during training from outset. It also means remembering that there are not necessarily black and white answers to everything: banking is an advisory business – you will need to use your judgment. If you want to spend the next... Read more

A recent defection of the top advisor team to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is expected to create quite a shake-up at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Longtime Merrill advisor and managing director Harvey Kadden recently joined MSSB, followed by other “Circle of Champions” Mihir Patel, Randy Knopp, Tim Baker and Chris Barber. The team had a combined production of over $14 million in the last 12 months and managed more... Read more

Bankers or other financial services pros aged 50 and older who are looking for work these days face a double whammy—one of which might even lead them to underestimate the value of their extensive job experience. First, executives over 50 are seeking a job in the most challenging market in our lifetimes, says Bob Sloane, co-author with Tucker Mays of the book, Fired At 50. “In banking and financial services, so... Read more

Senior Wall Streeters are increasingly finding second careers at regional banks outside of New York – as opposed to the traditional career trajectory of leaving IBs for hedge funds or early retirement, according to a Wall Street Journal article entitled, “Go West, Investment Banker: Hello Cleveland! Regional Lenders Grab Veteran Talent in Push for Business.” The article states that the the New York state comptroller's office predicted this month that... Read more

Banks’ third quarter results are not what they seem. As the Financial News points out, when the effects of DVA (debt valuation adjustment – or the gains from the reduced cost of buying back banks’ own debt) are eliminated, U.S. banks’ "cumulative pre-tax profits" disappear entirely and their revenues fall by a third. Banks don’t volunteer their historical revenue figures without DVA, making it difficult to ascertain precisely how well they’re... Read more

Job hunting can be traumatic at the best of times, but job hunting when you’re unemployed is far, far worse. It’s a jolting, high adrenaline ride. One week when there might be three opportunities at the same time, all progressing well and all at quality firms, the next week they may have all fallen away and you’re back to square one. The lack of decent feedback can be particularly frustrating. It’s... Read more

New opportunities are springing up for bankers and other investment professionals in Brazil, where pay has begun to rival and sometimes even surpass Wall Street’s. Many Brazilians have begun moving back to their native country due to the finance industry surge and because life can be cheaper in Sao Paulo than New York, says a portfolio manager specializing in emerging markets in Latin America. The area is rich with opportunism for... Read more

European governments have decided on several new measures aimed at containing the euro zone crisis, news media are reporting. European Union leaders held an emergency summit at European Council headquarters over the weekend, the 13th crisis management summit in less than two years, Bloomberg notes. “The new effort, which leaders hope to finalize at another summit on Wednesday, involves a sweeping recapitalization of European banks, a substantial restructuring of Greece's... Read more