Citi axes Aussie analysts

Citigroupís global jobs purge is hitting home as the US bank starts to slash analyst staff in Sydney. And donít rule out further cuts at other global banks in December and the New Year.

Citi has reduced active analysis of Australian companies by 18% since early October, while New Zealand coverage has been more than halved. Predictably enough, this is leading to layoffs, with about four analysts given their marching orders this week alone.

Last week, Citi also cut about 20 people from its Australian M&A team, according to an industry expert who asked not to be named.

Analysts at global banks who are working in distressed industries are particularly vulnerable to the axe, says Oliver Darkes, principal consultant at Carmichael Fisher. ìReal estate, for example, has been hit hard,î he adds.
Citi employs about 2,000 people in Australia, so these latest cuts amount to barely 1% of local headcount. They are also a tiny fraction of the 52,000 jobs that the troubled bank plans to eliminate worldwide.

Darkes thinks it would be foolish of Citi to fire too many more bankers from its comparatively profitable Australian franchise.

However, in general terms the jobs market at global banks in Australia is still on life support. Hiring has ground to a halt and cost-cutting pressures make more redundancies almost inevitable. ìAny international bank in Australia which is still carrying bull market headcount will be making redundancies,î adds Darkes.