Which are the top places to work in the iBanking sector, other than London and New York ?
Top places in terms of growth opportunities.
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Comments (14)
Dallas.
equities in dallas
whys dallas so hot?
It's an LSO reference...
Not specifically in US. But outside also will do.
What about HongKong, Singapore and Dubai ?
In terms of career progression, there's a huge dropoff after NYC and London. I'd say the next one down would be HK, but Beijing should be interesting in the upcoming decade.
Talked to one of the Wharton guys who worked at MS this summer in Singapore office, he had wanted the Hong Kong gig but couldn't get it because he doesn't speak Mandarin. So unless you're fluent in Mandarin and can edit a pitch book in Chinese, you're not getting into any of the Greater China office soon, no matter how great the growth prospect is :-s
My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
houston for energy and naturl resources in the us
Personally, I think Hong Kong is absolutely incredible. It is an intersection of where Western high finance and the rapidly growing Asian economies meet and the political economic system there serves as a perfect compliment for a burgeoning financial system. I would actually rank Hong Kong easily over London. Heck, for most of 2009's IPOs occured in Hong Kong and the stock exchange there did significantly more IPOs than the NYSE and LSE combined... HK is growing in M&A and debt as well. Lastly, progression in New York is largely linear whereas HK is less established and there is a lot more headroom for growth. Although I have never even been to HK, I think the opportunities there are fascinating. Nonetheless, it is a moot point since Chinese fluency is a convential prerequisite there to break in.
If we are talking about growth opportunities, Shanghai/Beijing and Dubai would probably be next on my list. China has powerhouse industries in a lot of sectors but is still lacking a powerful global brand in terms of banking. It is a top priority on China's list and it may (imo) start heavily recruiting talented Chinese / Chinese-Americans to start building up a domestic franchise. Nonetheless, it is a moot point again for a lot of people since China has always been protective of its people and will always vastly prefer Chinese / Chinese-Americans over other candidates. Same for Dubai.
At the end of the day, this is a decision that is largely based on personal circumstance. If you want to do tech, San Francisco will always be #1. If you are from Texas and have a passion for oil & gas, Houston will always give you a significant personal growth advantage. Likewise, Hong Kong and China for people of Chinese backgrounds and Dubai for people of Middle Eastern descent.
The big four commercial banks here, although publicly listed, are controlled by the state and therefore ultimately act for the benefit of the state. A Chinese bank will never lend to a foreigner unless they have a Chinese partner or it very directly benefits China. Same can be said for securities firms such as CITIC. They all have a mandate from the central government, so as long as there are SOEs or even private Chinese companies that need money, foreigners won't see much, if any.
As a result the people that are recruited by securities firms, foreign and domestic, even at the junior levels will have some sort of government connection. A junior person will be recruited because their mom or dad is a party member and has the connections to help make things move. This is true for foreign banks' staff as well.
The mentality is different here. This is still a communist country, and the banking system as a whole is quite a bit less developed than it is in the United States. A lot of developments were made under Jiang Zemin / Zhu Rongji, but have slowed under the current leadership and in light of the global financial crisis. Nothing will shift until next year at the absolute earliest when the leadership change occurs.
and what about Singapore ?
Singapore is still largely regional and not a significant financial center. They do mostly coverage but most of the significant deals are run out of Hong Kong. I have a really close friends who got heavily recruited by a top-tier BB in Singapore but decided on a weaker bank in Hong Kong.
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