If you work in banking, now is the time to leave your job for a new one. Not only do you have your 2013 bonus, but summer is starting and if you’re sufficiently senior you should get at least three months of gardening leave to spend on the beach.
Is this the rationale behind some of this week’s big M&A job moves? It was reported yesterday that Alastair Blackman, head of technology, media and telecoms (TMT) banking at Credit Suisse, is quitting for a similar position at Deutsche Bank. EMEA TMT banking revenues are up 30% this year – to their highest level since the financial crisis, but Blackman will not be hurrying across to Deutsche to make the most of this fecundity. Instead, he’ll have three months’ gardening leave and will stroll into his new employer in August after several months in the sun. Why doesn’t everyone do this? Foregoing a bonus might have something to do with it. – We suspect Blackman has negotiated a handsome guarantee at Deutsche to compensate for his summer off.
Separately, Goldman Sachs would like to let it be known that it’s fine to have a history degree if you want to work there. Or, at least, that it’s fine to have a history degree if you want to work in its investment management business (trading or strats, maybe less so). The firm yesterday pushed out a profile of ‘Chris’ who graduated in history from the University of Warwick sometime around 2010. Chris is now based in Goldman’s New York Investment management division. Having a degree in history has been a great thing, declared Chris. It’s given him the ability to analyze, sift through information, research and reach conclusions, and to write them up: “All all have helped me in my job today.” Chris works on the ‘Fundamental Equity Product Management team’. According to a separate area of Goldman’s site, this team is responsible for, ‘communicating the investment philosophy, process, product positioning and current market trends to clients.’ Goldman has jobs going in the team. Other historians may want to tout their CVs too.
Meanwhile:
Barclays just hired ex-Goldman banker Tom Vandever as a managing director and head of Americas financial institutions M&A. He’ll be joining in August as well. (WSJ)
Senior bankers have started spilling out of Barclays’ Asian business. (Financial Times)
HSBC just promoted only 79 people to managing director. Only 19 were in the UK. (Financial News)
HSBC was going to give its chairman up to £2.25m of shares. Under pressure from shareholders, its decided to cut that to £1m instead. (Financial Times)
Blackrock is becoming the place to work if you want to get ahead in fixed income electronic trading. (Financial Times)
ICAP is cutting jobs and restructuring pay for its voice brokers after a difficult start to the year. (Financial News)
British Bankers Association says it might be impossible to enforce bonus clawbacks that require bonuses to be repaid up to six years after they’ve been awarded (and spent). (Financial Times)
You can now buy Google Glass in the US (WSJ)
How to behave like a hedge funder in a gymnasium. (Business Insider)
10 places anyone can learn to code. (TED)
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