Forex career a safe haven during recession

FX employment holds firm in Asia

Foreign exchange (FX) professionals are still in demand in Asia. The sector is comparatively profitable and liquid, layoffs are limited, and small-scale hiring is still happening. But currency jobs are unlikely to save bankers in less buoyant industries – firms only want candidates who already have an FX background.

“I haven’t seen many redundancies at all in this area. It seems to be a safe haven compared to DCM and ECM,” says Pernille Storm, director of banking and financial services at recruiters Hudson.

There is still recruitment going on in operations and in the middle office to support front-office growth and to control risk. “While in the back office the need for specific product knowledge is not essential, it is needed for middle office roles where trades are booked and queried. A strong product understanding is key to executing the job without error,” adds Storm.

Banks generally want people with experience in complex products - not just vanilla FX - because their clients are seeking structures that can enable them to hedge exposures, limit risk and at the same time benefit from FX volatility.

The job market is predictably employer-led. Storm comments: “Firms are in a much stronger position and have a broader spectrum of candidates from different markets to hire from. This is naturally making hiring managers more demanding and upping the ante in terms of requirements.”

Banks are generally not keen on candidates from non-FX backgrounds. In the front office, even equity and debt traders with structured product experience will find it difficult to move across to an FX role. “There is also a growing talent pool of foreign FX professionals looking to come to Asia and thus making it more difficult for local talent to move across product groups,” says Storm.

London and New York are more advanced in terms of products, so professionals from those markets are still sought after by banks in Asia.

Source: http://news.efinancialcareers.sg
16 January 2009 by Simon Mortlock



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