The global financial crisis triggered an exodus of financial professionals from the City of London to the Arabian Gulf six years ago, but now the jobs market in the Square Mile may finally be looking up.
Financial services firms in the United Kingdom could add 28,000 jobs this year, taking the total number of people set to be employed in the industry to 1.15 million by the end of the year from 1.12 million in the same period the previous year, according to a report from the Confederation of British Industry and PwC, the major accounting firm.
But while the improving jobs market will tempt some expatriate bankers to return to the London rat race, the sunshine and laid-back lifestyle of the Arabian Gulf may make some think twice.
“I miss the professional challenge and sophistication of the financial markets in London, but for me the lifestyle is just about edging out the professional pull of London,” said the Briton Nicholas Wright, the managing director of Dubai sales and trading at the Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial.
“Professionally, I miss the scale and quality. But every week I make a decision that I have a family and great lifestyle here. If I was lucky enough to get a managing director-level job there, I’d have to go back to being on the tube at 5.30am and not getting home until 7pm and not being able to see my kids.”
There has been a notable improvement in the financial services industry in the UK this year.
“The UK’s financial-services sector is enjoying its strongest run of growth since 2007, with activity rising across all customer categories and profitability bouncing back,” said Rain Newton-Smith, the director of economics at the industry advocate CBI.
“Financial services firms are relatively upbeat about future prospects, despite some big geopolitical risks that remain on the horizon.”
The financial capitals of the Arabian Gulf – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh and Manama – have been safe havens for global bankers in the past couple of years, as the region continues to be a bright spot at a time of faltering global growth.
In particular Saudi Arabia, which is on the verge of opening its stock market to foreign investors, and Qatar, in the process of massive infrastructure projects in the run-up to hosting the Fifa World Cup, have been attracting many bankers.
Still, while expatriate bankers in cities such as Riyadh and Doha may pine to go home, they should not get too overjoyed by the prospects of finding jobs back in the British Isles, as many banks continue to cut costs.
Lloyds Banking Group, Britain’s largest mortgage provider, is poised to eliminate thousands of jobs in what may be the biggest round of cuts since at least 2011, Bloomberg News reported yesterday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
mkassem@thenational.ae
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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