FINANCIAL TIMES 27.5.09
Financial workers plan City escape
By Brian Groom, Business and Employment Editor
City finance professionals are so worried about the future that
nearly 30 per cent are planning to leave London, according to a
survey by eFinancialCareers, a jobs website.
CVs to overseas companies, and in some cases discussing internal
transfers with their employers.
Their most desirable destinations are Zurich and New York, followed
by Singapore, Geneva and Hong Kong.
Fifty-seven per cent believe more City redundancies are "probable" or
"definite" in the next six months, the online survey of more than 400
London-based financial professionals found. It comes at a sensitive
time for the City.
The Centre for Economic and Business Research forecast that 29,000
wholesale finance jobs would be lost this year, after 28,000 were
shed last year.
That would leave 295,000 City finance jobs.
Many observers believe employment in the City will recover gradually
from next year and hope London can hang on to its position as a
leading financial centre if the regulatory response to the crisis is
not too heavy-handed. Of those surveyed, 45 per cent thought London's
leading position was under threat, while a third felt it was not.
Increased taxes were seen as the main threat, followed by the
potential impact of heavier European regulation.
"Concerns about the relative competitiveness of the City in the face
of impending changes to the regulatory framework coupled to upheavals
in the tax system are having an immediate impact on the desirability
of London as a location in which to work," said John Benson, chief
executive of eFinancialCareers.
The financial professionals surveyed were split on whether the City
could return to its 2007 employment high in the next decade.
Forty-three per cent thought it possible, against 42 per cent who did
not.
Eighty-nine per cent wanted to stay in the financial services industry.
The primary motivating factors for this were "pay", 39 per cent, and
"professional challenge", 37 per cent.
In spite of the gloomy situation, some City employers such as
Barclays Capital, Evolution Securities and Investec have been using
the downturn as an opportunity to recruit star performers from
crippled rivals.
Figures from Morgan McKinley, the financial recruitment specialist,
show City vacancies fell 20 per cent in April compared with March -
an expected dip because the Easter break fell during April. But the
average time taken to find a new job was 61 days, down from 81 days
in January and 72 days in February, suggesting a stronger commitment
to hire when the right talent is available.
"More of the roles that are coming on to the market are being filled
rather than put on hold. This shift in attitude has reduced the time
it is currently taking for candidates to secure their new role," said
Andrew Evans, Morgan McKinley's managing director.
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