The banking industry is not enjoying an Arab spring or indeed any type of spring. In fact it is in a distinctly autumnal phase. This was underlined for me by two nuggets. Firstly the talented Amir Hoveyda, who was a former EMEA head of debt capital markets at Merrill Lynch, has resurfaced as a managing principal at StormHarbour, the 200-person independent financial advisory boutique.
The fact that Amir has not come back to a big job in a big firm may be a matter of personal choice but it also shows me that the industry is contracting. There are not a lot of plum jobs to go round, especially if you’ve been off the carousel for a while.
In similar vein, a source told me that when a graduate turned up for his entry level job at the asset management arm of one of the biggest US banks this September, graduate trainee was promptly made redundant on the grounds that times were tough. “Poor little thing,” source sighed. “He’s been scarred for life, and of course his prospects of finding another banking job now are non-existent.”
Shortlist for full-time UBS chief executive role looks very short indeed
Will the UK be pleased to wave goodbye to Barclays and StanChart?
It’s time for Bhattal to call it quits at Nomura
Plum banking jobs are scarce from top to bottom
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