Banking shift to Sydney continues

The potential Westpac/St George merger, which would create the countryís biggest lender by market value, is set to edge Sydney slightly further in front of Melbourne as Australiaís premier banking hub.

Both Westpac and St George are Sydney-based, so the newly combined bank would also be headquartered in the harbour city.

Mary Grant, principal consultant in recruitment firm Hudson's banking and finance division, tells eFinancialCareers: ìWestpacís Sydney headquarters is not big enough for St George staff, but they will probably keep the St George brand for a while. They may split operations and keep retail banking in Kogarah,î she said.

The creation of Australiaís top bank in Sydney reflects a drift of jobs away from Melbourne. Leon Carter, national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, says 42% of the unionís members now work in NSW compared with 26% in Victoria.

ìThe shift was well underway before the credit crunchÖSydney has worked hard to promote itself as a global financial hub, but Melbourne still has a role to play. By focusing on its back office and superannuation expertise, Melbourne is fast becoming the Boston of Australian banking,î says Carter.

Luke Heath, chief executive, Chandler Heath Executive Recruitment, says the Westpac/St George merger will have little bearing on banking roles. ìThe trend is for most senior financial markets roles to be in Sydney. Melbourne will still have representation, but Sydney will continue to be the pricing hub,î says Heath.

Grant says the Melbourne-based banks - ANZ and NAB – also have operations in Sydney and senior staff commute between the two cities. ìBoth ANZ and NAB have a lot of institutional banking in Sydney anyway. If theyíre hiring someone they are flexible about location because so many employees travel back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne,î she adds.