Financial Services

The recession could reverse the progress made by big banks in the past few years in bringing women into senior positions - because women themselves are using the downturn to step off the corporate treadmill.

As excuses for failure go, "it wasn't me, it's genetic" probably won't get the world's bankers very far, such is the rage felt towards them right now. But there may be an element of truth in it.

Since the very beginning of the IT Age, Wall Street boasted more technology and processing power than any other sector. So what happened to it? Why did it fail to stop the meltdown?

A background in accountancy is one of the best launch pads there is for getting to the top in business. The problem is that it is still a profession largely closed to women at senior level.

Mike's job in a financial institution is to handle complaints about miss-selling – and he's worried by the number of unhappy customers who contact him every day. But his bosses won't face up to the problem. Andy Hanselman offers some advice.

China is facing increasing difficulty as its financial system moves to a more market-oriented style. Surprisingly, it's not necessarily government bureaucracy that is posing these problems, but decades of Chinese higher-education that hasn't taught finance degrees.

Working from home one day a week has transformed Peter's life. But could economic jitters put paid to his company's support for flexibility – and what can he do to prevent this?

Bad management of defined contribution pensions by British employers risks leaving workers 70 per cent worse off in retirement than they should be.

Despite being blessed with one of the world's biggest labour pools, Indian financial services businesses are struggling to find graduates with the right management and people skills.

Nine out of 10 male accountants believe they have been adversely affected by attempts to create a better environment for women and many say women are being promoted when they do not deserve to be.

With one in five employees quitting within the first two years of starting a new job, a study has found that serial job hoppers could find themselves bounced out of consideration for future opportunities.

More than 4,000 people look set to enjoy payouts of more than £1 million in the new year as the bonus pot in the City of London hits a record £8.8 billion ($16.7 billion).

Such is the demand for top staff in the City of London that investment banks are prepared to buy out the huge annual bonuses of top performers they want to poach from rivals.

City financial firms are increasingly looking abroad to hire new recruits because foreign university graduates are felt to be more mature than their British counterparts.

It looks like it is going to be a bumper bonus season in the City of London this year, with more than half the capital's finance professionals expecting their payouts to be more than 50 per cent higher than last year.

Salaries for newly qualified accountants in the City of London have hit record levels with average compensation packages now worth up to £65,000 ($120,000) a year.

Confidence in Briatin's financial services industry has taken another knock with the revelation that a quarter of all job applications to financial employers contain at least one major discrepancy.

Pension firms and investment managers have overtaken estate agents, politicians and even traffic wardens to earn the ignominious accolade as the least trusted profession in Britain, according to new consumer research.

Getting ahead in the cut-throat world of financial services isn't so much a matter of having the right qualifications as much as posessing excellent communication skills, attention to detail and leadership potential.

Financial services employers have been warned that they need to address their long hours cultures and help staff balance their work and home lives following a promotion or risk losing them to another company.

Most finance professionals in the UK believe that workplace diversity initiatives are glorified PR stunts designed largely to ensure that employers avoid prosecution under discrimination laws.

Financial services firms in the UK face a growing threat from insider fraud and have been warned that they need to go do more if they are to protect themselves and their customers from criminals.

If you thought that a fat bonus cheque can buy the loyalty of your employees, think again. More than half of those working in London's financial services sector are planning to look for a new job once they have received their annual bonuses.

Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has become the first major investment bank to reveal that the average salary for its staff has topped half a million dollars.

Why are investment banks so vulnerable to writs from women who claim the have been unfairly treated? According to Matthew Lynn writing in The Business, it is largely because "a brutalised, discriminatory working culture is part of what makes investment banking so profitable."

Bonuses in the City of London are set to total some £7.5bn this winter, up 16.2 per cent from the £6.4bn paid out last winter, according to latest estimates.

Christmas bonuses may be going out of fashion in many organisations, but for the investment banking community this year looks like being business as usual as far as big payouts are concerned.

Hundreds of thousands of UK financial services jobs will be outsourced to low-cost centres aboard by 2010, but 'offshore fatigue' is already leading to sharp decline in the results achieved.

UK productivity is amongst the best in the world in some areas such as food & drink manufacturing and professional services but is dragged down by the poor showing of vital sectors such as financial services.

Despite the tough conditions afflicting the rest of the economy, Britain's financial services sector is enjoying a resurgence in business, jobs and profits after a year of shrinking or stable volumes.

A growing number of people working in London's financial sector are so stressed by their jobs that many resort to 'pulling sickies' just for the chance to recover or spend more time with their families.

While many customers say they are concerned about banks setting up call centres and processing operations in offshore locations, very few have bothered to find out more about their own bank's position.

Despite overwhelming evidence that macho management is totally ineffective, many senior managers in the finance sector are opinionated, arrogant bullies who blame their staff and take credit for the work of others.

London looks set for a bonus bonanza with seven out of 10 City employees expecting their 2005/2006 bonus to be higher than they were in 2004 – and a quarter hoping to receive double what they did last year.

The recent spate of sex discrimination cases has dissuaded female graduates from joining the City, the head of Britain's biggest accounting firm has told the Times.

School-leavers still even lack basic skills such as being able to write letters or do simple sums, even those with good exam grades, according to a poll of British employers.

Financial services firms in Britain face a nightmare scenario after an undercover reporter for the Sun newspaper was sold confidential details of British bank account holders stolen from Indian call centres.

Salaries in the City of London have risen by an average of 7.5 per cent since February 2005 as a shortage of candidates leaves employers struggling to recruit skilled staff.

The number of jobs in the City of London is expected to surge to a new high in 2006 after a rebound in merger and acquisition activity, a new report has suggested.

The City of London could be set for a recruitment boom as a new survey finds that two thirds of firms expect an increase in hiring of up to 20 per cent during 2005.

More than half of workers in the UK’s financial sector say they want to change jobs, complaining they feel ground down by over-work, a lack of staff to support them and rising levels of workplace stress.

People who work in the London's financial sector believe that having children can seriously damage their careers.

Professional women in the United States who put careers on hold for family or other reasons can expect to earn 18 per cent less if they return to the workforce.

Bankers believe that a remorseless rise in regulation has become the greatest risk facing the banking sector as regulatory overkill saps resources and creates a false sense of security.

The UK could soon find itself facing a major IT skills shortage in key areas like project management as the public sector and the banking industry fight for scarce talent.

Up to 100 top City lawyers could lose their jobs as a slowdown in corporate deal activity finally catches up with London's legal profession.

Britain's financial services firms expect to shed jobs over the next few months at the fastest rate for two years.

Pension black holes are putting off firms from buying or merging with one another, a report has suggested.

Solving the UK’s looming pensions crisis must be the top priority for businesses this year, the Institute of Directors has said.

A former executive of Merrill Lynch yesterday lost her sex discrimination case against the US bank.

Champagne corks are set to be popping in City, with one in five workers in the Square Mile expecting bonuses to be at least double those of last year.

Bonuses paid to many London bankers are falling in real terms because of the weakness of the US dollar.

New Year is traditionally one of the most popular times for people to look for a new job – and this New Year could be one of the best yet, according to recruiter Manpower.

Employers must take more responsibility for helping to fund workplace pensions or face being forced to do so, the Government-backed body tasked with looking at solutions to the UK’s pensions’ crisis has warned.

Muted financial markets mean that Santa Claus is unlikely to bring City workers bumper Christmas bonuses this year.

More than a quarter of HR professionals in the finance sector admit that their employers have given a pregnant employee a package to end her employment during the past three years.

Organised crime groups are attempting to place staff in financial services firms to commit fraud and steal customers' identities, the Financial Services Authority has warned.

The financial services industry has been accused of paying lip service to work-life balance policies, being hostile towards women and failing to deliver family-friendly workplaces.

A third of consumers in the UK would ditch their financial services providers if they knew that they had re-located their call centres offshore, according to new research.

Financial services companies are being battered by a tidal wave of regulation which threatens to undermine the sector's contribution to the UK economy, according to a new CBI report.