Q4 2012 – Q1 2013

2012 WRAP

The close of 2012 saw the end to a difficult year for many within the Australian financial services field. The majority of larger banking institutions ended the year with thinner staff numbers then when the year commenced. It has been apparent that for many financial institutions in Australia, delivering successful bottom line profit figures has required the incorporation of a strategy focussed on managing and reducing costs.

However, there have been many success stories in 2012 particularly across a number of the smaller emerging global banks and fund managers in the Australian market. We have worked with a number of firms through 2012 supporting strategies focussed on obtaining market share from larger organisations retracting from the local market as a result of the impact of difficulties being felt at a global level. There have been several examples of banking institutions undergoing headcount increases in 2012 by proportions in excess of 30%. These firms tend to have been smaller local and international banks and fund managers with a strong appetite for investment in the Australian market and who are less encumbered by difficulties offshore. Particular strength has existed in the corporate finance, project finance and debt capital markets offerings.

Commencement of 2013

The commencement of 2013 has presented some particularly positive sentiments, with several strong weeks of performance of the Australian stock market, and many positive statements being made by commentators on the prospects of the Australian and Global economies for 2013. Our expectation is that the organisations we have assisted through 2012 in growth strategies will continue to look for high calibre talent to drive their garnering of market share, we also hope that there will be a return to stability and growth across many of the larger banking institutions and markets, in particular the equities, stockbroking and advisory markets which have been the more subdued industries in recent quarters.