The big(ish) Barclays Capital push into Australia is continuing as the firm recruits for its new foreign exchange and interest rate trading business in Sydney. About 15 staff have been hired or transferred to Sydney from Singapore or Tokyo as part of the expansion.
The move reflects the current attractiveness of Australia’s high-yielding, highly-rated securities market, as well as BarCap’s own long-term commitment to establishing a full-service investment banking presence in the country.
BarCap’s Sydney headcount has surged from 40 to 100 over the past year, and word has it that the firm, which is relaunching itself in Australia, is being rather generous to help attract all these new recruits.
“In this market, for a new comer, unless you want second-rate staff, you will pay up to get the people you need to build your business,” comments one Sydney headhunter who asked not to be named.
At Bar Cap and Nomura – a bank which is rebuilding even more aggressively in Australia – recruiters report the use not only of guaranteed bonuses, but also of guaranteed contracts (often for two years or more) with payout provisions.
“These can be affective in attracting people away from larger competitors, but the danger is that the new people won’t be hungry enough if you give them too many guarantees,” the headhunter tells eFinancialCareers.com.au.
Barclays Capital faces strong competition for FX staff from other foreign firms – such as BNP Paribas, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Nomura – which are also expanding.
But in FX, unlike many other functions, it can always take on talent from the Big Four. “The domestic banks, especially Westpac, have a strong presence in FX and they provide a wider, and sometimes more cost effective, pool of people to poach from,” says Warren Price, managing director of Select Personnel.
Fortunately for BarCap, its brand is on the rise as it expands globally and rapidly under the stewardship of Bob Diamond <%20http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7601287/... . This is increasing its pulling power among candidates.
“In the current market, there are no longer fears about working for foreign banks, certainly not BarCap. In the FX space, many Big Four bankers would consider it a step up in pay and prestige,” says Price.
