[ I N
D E P T H
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TA L E N T ]
New arsenals
While the changing regulatory landscape is undoubt-
edly factoring into banks’ talent attraction and reten-
tion strategies, it has occurred in tandem with the
emergence of new technologies that are acting as both
a weapon for and against those institutions seeking to
use them.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain,
predictive analytics, natural language processing and
“Many of the smartest bankers have left to start
their own FinTech firms or joined hedge funds.
The problem is that since 2008, the only real
spend has been on compliance.”
JOHN MARK, COO, ADAPTIVE
quantum computing are all – to various extents – new
factors that banks will be exploring to give them an
edge on the battlefield, but without the troops that
understand how to build, use and maintain these tools,
they remain out of reach.
“It can be very complicated, and the process of hiring
talent has changed dramatically since the global crash.
48 // TheTrade // Autumn 2018
With big bonuses and the smart-
est technology minds, investment
banking used to be the in place to
go but since 2008, pay has been
on the slide and bonuses have
vanished,” explains John Mark,
chief operating officer at real-time
trading technology services provid-
er, Adaptive, and former banker
at RBS, Credit Suisse and Lehman
Brothers.
“Many of the smartest bankers
have left to start their own FinTech
firms or joined hedge funds. The
problem is that since 2008, the only
real spend has been on compliance.
The trouble is that these regulatory
projects do not tend to be very in-
novative or exciting to work on. As
a result, these projects have taken
their toll on the talent pool.”
It is a common complaint from
senior executives on the sell-side
that younger generations of tech-
nology talent show little enthusi-
asm to join the sector when faced