Some good news about hiring. Following yesterday’s revelation that financial services vacancies were up nearly 40% year-on-year in the City in November, it seems that at least two banks are building entirely new teams.
Firstly, BCS, a major Russian derivatives trader, has appointed Gareth Johnson as senior trader in its London office. Johnson has relocated from Moscow, where he recently spent seven years as a senior equity trader at Troika Dialog. BCS wants to become the main hub for trading securities between London and Moscow, making more hires seem likely.
Secondly, Mediobanca has hired 58 year old Stefano Marsaglia from Barclays as co-head of corporate and investment banking based out of London. Mediobanca is reportedly using its London office as its European centre for capital markets and sector teams and will use Marsaglia’s arrival to expand its presence.
Separately, City Am has drawn our attention to the wild Christmas parties for which recruitment firm S3 is renowned. While banks’ Christmas parties have been toned down in recent years, S3 seems to have continued partying like it was 2006. The firm’s annual Battersea ‘bash’ has apparently involved the dispensation of Rolex watches and the keys to a Porsche. The event will allegedly be more tame this year.
Meanwhile:
“Bonuses this year are going to be really tough,” a senior investment banker says. (Financial Times)
Mark Iannotti, the former head of equity research at Merrill Lynch, has just joined small-cap broker Keith Bayley Rogers. (Financial News)
Klaus Oestergaard, a former partner and money manager at Brevan Howard Asset Management, left the firm a year ago and has just rejoined it in Geneva. (Bloomberg)
Why you should avoid Red Bull. (BBC)