Subscribe to this blog's feedThe FT today looks at SG from a headhunter's point of view, and finds it a hard target:
A head of equity derivatives at one rival says it has always been harder to hire from SocGen than anywhere else, including its domestic rival and main competitor in equity derivatives, BNP Paribas. This was in spite of offering higher pay.He says: "I have been calling them all week, and they are not coming. It's not just that they are very French, since they are recognisably different from BNP. There are a lot of career-lifers at SocGen. From day one they believe they are at the best bank in the world. Because equity derivatives is so big at SocGen, and SocGen is so powerful in France, they have a strong and unique culture that helps them with staff retention."...
Or maybe it's the bonuses.
On that subject, on Risk News this week we look at the incentives that bonuses offer - something the FSA is getting worried about, and something I've touched on before.
The Risk Awards were presented last night at the Marriott Grosvenor Square - the compere, comedian Rob Brydon, even managed a few topical jokes ("important piece of risk management advice: keep your passwords and pin numbers secret"). Photographs will be available soon. In the meantime, here's the original writeup. SG's award was accepted by the London head of equities and derivatives, David Escoffier. Co-chief executive Bill Winters arrived to pick up JP Morgan's House of the Year award, and Bruno Dupire accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award in person, remarking as he did so that he felt he wasn't quite old enough yet to be getting lifetime awards.
