Barclays' hiring spree

NeroTulip · Post by **NeroTulip** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:47 pm

These guys are hiring like there's no tomorrow. Is it a good or a bad sign? Any views on some of the people who joined them recently?

rowdyroddypiper · Post by **rowdyroddypiper** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:29 pm

They have hired a lot on the MBS and CMBS desks. The guy running their CMBS effort is from Lehman and he has built conduits before. He's quite a smart guy. The thing about CMBS is that there is quite a bit of infrastructure required to originate and securitize the loans so if you don't have a large embedded origination group in the bank, it takes a lot of people up front to source loans. I don't know what Barclay's situation is with respect to personnel, but they are hiring originators like they don't have any.

The two guys the brought in on the MBS trading side are making 3-4x what they would at another bank. Is this bad for Barclays? Me thinks yes. If they succeed you've brought them on at such a level that you can't very well dial it back in the future. If they don't then you've overpaid for no performance.

granchio · Post by **granchio** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:13 pm

they're building equity derivs in london. I hear the hires have been a mixed bag, some good people, some maybe less so.

Rumour has it that some sales got 3x what they were at previously.

Nonius · Post by **Nonius** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:44 pm

Barclay's looking good!!!!! reeel good for Uncle Nonius.

NeroTulip · Post by **NeroTulip** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 8:53 pm

Imagine a Nonian paycheck. Triple it. Wow, I feel dizzy.

PanzerMeyer · Post by **PanzerMeyer** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:20 pm

BarCap recruited heavily, I don't know if it's over, but some friends went to interviews... As long as the French that should be recruited have been screened by Singer Hamilton which is a French HH, they kinda selected in their criteria : HEC, ESSEC and excluded others.... The French way.....

Merrill Lynch has been hiring recently over the last 4 months in Equity DErivatives sales, I talked to the EMEA Equity Head of instit Sales and he recommended me urgently to the guy just under him (same job but Derivatives features) for HEdge Fund Sales but I was either a bit too late or they found more seniors.... I bet on the second.

JabairuStork · Post by **JabairuStork** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 6:17 am

Well, I got some info on Barcap vis a vis credit derivs . . now wher the F is my triple paycheck???

glumas · Post by **glumas** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 11:51 am

As those reading off topic will know, I'm a headhunter, and we do alot of work with Barcap, so here's some information.

Barcap are recruiting in all areas, though as normal given time of year, most of hiring is finished at senior end. They have built a US MBS desk as someone mentioned below, and beefed up on EQD (ironically from CSFB...sell business in 98, buy back talent 2004). They also are doing cool stuff in esoteric areas round trading credit risk and BG swaps trading. Most people I know there are very bullish about life, though of course getting so much talent in at one time can be quite volatile. Paywise they are the same as any good house - they pay for talent. quantwise too there are roles we are ongoing with.

We ran a big campaign from them across derivative trading and sales, cross asset class last month and found that few people didn't want to meet them...

James · Post by **James** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 12:49 pm

What about fi hy/distressed? I heard Barclays is putting together an index product. - j.

Reg · Post by **Reg** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 10:08 pm

[i]Any views on some of the people who joined them recently?[/i]

Mostly guys with good experience (some with around 15 yrs) rather than necessarily very quant guys (not a good or a bad thing). I think only one of them was a hard-core optns guy.

And they got paid a boatload. Median pay was about $5MM per year for 2yrs. Those are slightly higher levels as compared to how much the guys who jumped from BofAss to Credit Sweetz and the guys who jumped from Douchebag to Mylilies

Is surprising since by jumping from Titigroup, they're giving up all the secondary market trading opportunities they had helped develop there and shall have to start 'structuring for secondary trading' from scratch.

Good short-term move for them. As for whether Farklays struck gold or struck out, no comment.

Farklays is generally hiring in IR derivatives as well, I'm assuming to support the phones they expect to be ringing given their product launch on blumberg.