eFinancialCareers

The meltdown in the US finance sector is forcing worried Wall Street i-bankers to sniff out sectors in Asia where headcount is still growing. Headhunters with private banking vacancies in Hong Kong and Singapore to fill suddenly have more applications from Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch staff planning their exit from New York.

John Koh, managing partner at search firm WMRC LLP, explains: “Six months ago, a lot of the American CVs were coming from Bear Stearns, but in the last couple of weeks we’re definitely seeing more people from Lehman and Merrill calling or writing to us. The majority of them are from Wall Street.”

Most US applicants for Asian private banking roles are investment bankers, says Koh. “Some realise that private banking is a good career path. It’s one of the only sectors where there is growth predicted in the medium term,” he adds.

But Americans shouldn’t expect to walk into a front-office private banking job in Singapore or Hong Kong. Their chances of success depend largely on how transferable their skills are, according to Koh.

He says although a lack of local clients effectively rules them out as relationship managers, US i-bankers are sometimes suitable in advisory roles, such as investment consultants or product specialists. “High-net-worth individuals often need advice on markets and all types of investment products – equities, fixed income, alternatives and structured finance.”

Guy Day, Asia managing director at recruiters Ambition, says there hasn’t yet been an uptake in US applications for middle and back-office positions. “The talk of global redeployment hasn’t really happened. Compared to the front office, these types of jobs haven’t been hit as hard in the US and Europe, and the number of positions actually available in Singapore is also not as great as last year.”