Australia

Small online are among those offering standard variable interest rates a full percentage point below those offered by bricks-and-mortar bank rates.

How you perform in job interviews is arguably the most important factor in determining whether or not you secure the job you want. This is particularly true for junior banking professionals, whose limited job-specific experience can mean interview performance is the key differentiator between candidates competing for the same role. In our experience at Robert Walters, there are five key mistakes commonly made by junior banking professionals in job interviews that instantly disadvantage them. If you can avoid these mistakes, you’ll be well on your way to interview success. 1. Not adequately researching the organisation they are interviewing with While it seems like a basic step to undertake when looking for jobs, we still see a number of candidates who don’t properly do their due diligence on the company they’re applying to work for. It is vitally important for candidates to be able to talk confidently and intelligently about what their potential employer does. You should be able to recite specific facts about the organisation, including:

The shares, considered tier 1 capital under Basel III reforms, are eyed to carry an annual margin of 3.1%-3.3%.

ANZ Bank will likely raise its full-year earnings growth to another record profit.

The move will likely boost the lender’s productivity and reduce cost as it expect slow growth period to extend.

More than 90% of the bank's on balance sheet funding comes from retail deposits.

Yet weakness in Australian economy’s consumer-exposed sectors and the impact of natural disasters may push bad debts up anew.

While the Australasian banking and financial services job market has seen mixed levels of demand so far in 2011, as the year progresses we’re expecting to see continued demand in key areas and skills shortages to appear, putting pressure on employers to examine the way they recruit.

The low-growth outlook for domestic banking seen to have caused Ian Narev’s appointment.

The lender recorded maximum profit amidst turbulent times under Norris’ leadership.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia chairman David Turner appointed Ian Narev as new CEDO to replace Ralph Norris who will retire in November.

More than 80% of the 150 major banks and corporate companies are studying how to harness m-payments.

The lender resorts to overseas income to compensate lethargic lending in Australia.

Clyne said the current European financial crisis has yet to affect its funding costs.

Despite a successful trial, Visa and ANZ wait for technology to evolve to fully replace credit cards with mobile phone payments in Australia.

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).