Commentary

The economic landscape is not looking very promising and transfer pricing audits are escalating in both intensity and frequency. Developed nations are struggling with significant debts and deficits as their economic growth stagnates, while developing nations have now latched onto the idea that they should reap the benefits associated with their low cost bases and their large untapped markets.

Once upon a time, a typical job-search process involved simply browsing job advertisements in newspapers, writing a CV and cover letter and submitting them to the relevant organisation. However with ever-increasing technological advancements and the advent of social networking platforms, many job-seekers have ditched traditional methods of job-searching in favour of logging in to their social networks and trying to connect with potential employers. In fact, so overwhelming is the growth in social media that according to a recent blog post from their CEO Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn is growing at around one million new members each week, which equates to roughly one member per second. But are online networking sites really effective when it comes to finding your dream job in the banking and financial services industry, and what are the drawbacks to be aware of if you’re using social media in isolation? It’s public so your details are available to everyone One of the major limitations of relying on social networking to secure a job is that there is no filter on the people who can approach you. Your details are available to everyone, so you could find yourself inundated with queries from organisations you have no interest in working for, and regarding jobs that don’t nearly resemble the opportunity you are looking for. The end result: you waste valuable time and energy sorting the wheat from the chaff. It broadcasts your intention to being open to approaches from competitors even if you’re not – people make their own assumptions Something else to consider is the effect that the active use of platforms such as LinkedIn has on your standing with your current employer. If you’re not considered a ‘natural networker’ or it’s not a crucial part of your existing role to find new ways of connecting with other professionals, actively using these channels could potentially jeopardise your current work situation. You need to be vigilant about maintaining a professional presence While more casual social networks such as Facebook are intended to facilitate informal socialising between friends, they are also being increasingly monitored and used by employers to form opinions on job applicants. Some research even indicates as many as 44% of recruiters have eliminated candidates based on what they have found online (according to a survey conducted by ExecuNet).

The global financial crisis was a stark reminder for many companies that effective working capital management and strong counterparty risk management are important.

A new American tax law has the potential to shake-up not just the U.S. tax reporting system, but also the way financial institutions do business globally.

As with its predecessor, the new 5-year Development Plan attaches importance to continuing financial sector reform in four main areas: (i) strengthening financial institutions, (ii) development of financial markets, (iii) improvements to monetary policy instruments, and (iv) enhancement of the supervisory framework.

With the growth of the high-net-worth population in Asia–Pacific significantly outpacing the rest of the world, it is no wonder that the demand for wealth management talent in Asia is at an all-time high. More than half of wealth management firms plan to increase staffing levels by at least 10-to-20 percent. However, firms face a limited talent pool to fill their ranks.

As the rest of the world scurried to locate adequate collateral in order to secure transactions against mounting counterparty risk and to gain access to central bank liquidity, Asian banks and financial institutions were relaxed.

In the banking industry, growth is back on the agenda.

Technology is not a proper subject for businessmen to study. However every few years something comes along that changes the landscape and businessmen need to re-examine the role of technology within the enterprise. These “disruptive” technologies are coming thick and fast in 2011, so here is a primer on the first of the three disruptive technologies you should be thinking about:-

Increasing market strength and new government regulation will see new permanent roles created this quarter in China.

A new wave of fitness training for investment operations is getting underway. Straight Through Processing (STP) systems achieved a certain level of effectiveness over the last 20 years, but they have been thrown a new set of challenges in recent months. These challenges will inadvertently cause a wholesale review of operating models in asset management business worldwide. With the increasing demand from securities firms for end-to-end STP reviews, SWIFT’s rapidly-growing consulting unit has developed some insight in response to this trend.

You would have thought we’d have gotten further Ever since the East India Companies of the 17th century, business around the world has been growing more and more international. Customer and supplier relationships are to an ever increasing extent occurring across the borders, often with very broad patterns linking into several markets, the result of modern multinational corporations.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, compensation practices in the Financial Services industry have come under significant scrutiny by regulators and politicians, particularly in Europe and the US. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) have been at the forefront of issuing a series of implementation standards on compensation with the ultimate goal of designing appropriate incentive structures that seek to align bankers’ compensation to the nature and degree of risks undertaken.

Throughout the last two quarters, most hiring managers in banks were grappling with multiple offers and counter offers, thinking the worst of them.

The compensation landscape at financial institutions is undergoing dramatic change. New approaches to remuneration are being implemented to comply with changing regulations and drive long-term business success.

The banking industry has been getting a bad wrap in recent times, but is this scrutiny justified, and is working in banking now radically different to what it was when the industry afforded a much better reputation? Furthermore, are quality candidates really turning their back on the banking sector to pursue careers in seemingly more attractive industries?