[ I N
with a plethora of more glamorous
options. New FinTech startups,
emerging digital asset ventures and
challenger banks – not to mention
the “GAFA” quartet that hoover up
young talent – have all put tech-
nology at the core of their financial
offering and lure graduates with
a more exciting career path than
a traditional bank could, although
many institutions have attempted
to tap into this with a softer ap-
proach and tailored environments
built for this demographic.
But it’s not just the younger
generation or the often-vilified mil-
lennials that are being lured to the
burgeoning, non-traditional bank-
ing ranks. Alongside headlines of
senior departures at major banks,
you will often now see the words
‘FinTech’, ‘startup’ or ‘crypto’. It is
well-known to most in the industry
that their jobs are often at risk of
cost-cutting programmes while the
job itself can often be demanding,
so a starring role working with,
or even establishing, a startup
developing new technologies will
be quite enticing.
“Bankers have been hammered
for the past decade in the press,
which creates an emotional neg-
ativity we carry around with us,”
Spartan Executive’s Rolfe says.
“It can be extremely enticing for
somebody working at a tier one
institution to join a company that
is claiming to be at the forefront of
the industry or technology, with an
overall positive, forward-thinking
message.
“Shifting from being battered
every day with limited team
mates and resources to a smaller
company, that in many cases offer
a guaranteed settling in period, can
be difficult to argue against.”
Furthermore, for those deco-
D E P T H
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TA L E N T ]
“With a lack of fresh talent coming into the
industry, it’s very possible we will see a big
shortage in talent in the years to come.”
MICHAEL HORAN, HEAD OF TRADING, PERSHING
rated veterans that boast pedigree CVs that contain
distinguished service records over many years with
the biggest names in the industry, the value of moving
between similar competitors may not hold much of an
allure. In many ways, these institutions possess very
similar cultures, and for those in the autumn years of
their careers, there may not be as much incentive to
swap one side for another.
It’s often the case that personnel from the largest in-
vestment banks will move to a smaller firm. Technol-
ogy vendors, or those developing artificial intelligence
for trading operations, want someone with the knowl-
edge and experience that comes with a traditional
banking background. Pershing’s Horan warns that a
talent shortage is on the horizon and larger players
must act now to ensure they don’t get left behind with
staff that aren’t able to adapt to the new environment
around them.
“The writing is on the wall for many who read
headlines about major cuts in trading businesses at
investment banks,” he says. “And there are not as many
graduates looking to come into the industry as there
once was, which will have a big impact years down the
line.
“As banks continue to deploy new technologies and
cut costs, with a lack of fresh talent coming into the
industry, it’s very possible we will see a big shortage
in talent in the years to come. Banks need to start
thinking about this now, and they must adapt because
eventually the entire workforce will be replaced.”
Traditional banks now find themselves at the edge
of a new battlefield then, with the threat of increas-
ing costs, declining revenues and shrinking margins,
while competitors that have taken the initiative are
growing in size and power. This, in turn, may mean
more redundancies and senior people forced out of the
market – such as the situation currently playing out at
Deutsche Bank – and when combined with a fiercer
fight for graduates, an awareness of the severe lack of
talent will eventually be realised. At that stage, it will
become less about the battle for talent, and more about
just how bad the rout will turn out to be.
Issue 57 // TheTradeNews.com // 49