Salaries for newly qualified accountants in the City of London have hit record levels with average compensation packages now worth up to £65,000 ($120,000) a year.
Confidence in Briatin's financial services industry has taken another knock with the revelation that a quarter of all job applications to financial employers contain at least one major discrepancy.
Pension firms and investment managers have overtaken estate agents, politicians and even traffic wardens to earn the ignominious accolade as the least trusted profession in Britain, according to new consumer research.
Getting ahead in the cut-throat world of financial services isn't so much a matter of having the right qualifications as much as posessing excellent communication skills, attention to detail and leadership potential.
Financial services employers have been warned that they need to address their long hours cultures and help staff balance their work and home lives following a promotion or risk losing them to another company.
Most finance professionals in the UK believe that workplace diversity initiatives are glorified PR stunts designed largely to ensure that employers avoid prosecution under discrimination laws.
Financial services firms in the UK face a growing threat from insider fraud and have been warned that they need to go do more if they are to protect themselves and their customers from criminals.
If you thought that a fat bonus cheque can buy the loyalty of your employees, think again. More than half of those working in London's financial services sector are planning to look for a new job once they have received their annual bonuses.
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has become the first major investment bank to reveal that the average salary for its staff has topped half a million dollars.
Why are investment banks so vulnerable to writs from women who claim the have been unfairly treated? According to Matthew Lynn writing in The Business, it is largely because "a brutalised, discriminatory working culture is part of what makes investment banking so profitable."
Bonuses in the City of London are set to total some £7.5bn this winter, up 16.2 per cent from the £6.4bn paid out last winter, according to latest estimates.
Christmas bonuses may be going out of fashion in many organisations, but for the investment banking community this year looks like being business as usual as far as big payouts are concerned.
Hundreds of thousands of UK financial services jobs will be outsourced to low-cost centres aboard by 2010, but 'offshore fatigue' is already leading to sharp decline in the results achieved.
UK productivity is amongst the best in the world in some areas such as food & drink manufacturing and professional services but is dragged down by the poor showing of vital sectors such as financial services.
Despite the tough conditions afflicting the rest of the economy, Britain's financial services sector is enjoying a resurgence in business, jobs and profits after a year of shrinking or stable volumes.
A growing number of people working in London's financial sector are so stressed by their jobs that many resort to 'pulling sickies' just for the chance to recover or spend more time with their families.
While many customers say they are concerned about banks setting up call centres and processing operations in offshore locations, very few have bothered to find out more about their own bank's position.
Despite overwhelming evidence that macho management is totally ineffective, many senior managers in the finance sector are opinionated, arrogant bullies who blame their staff and take credit for the work of others.
London looks set for a bonus bonanza with seven out of 10 City employees expecting their 2005/2006 bonus to be higher than they were in 2004 – and a quarter hoping to receive double what they did last year.
The recent spate of sex discrimination cases has dissuaded female graduates from joining the City, the head of Britain's biggest accounting firm has told the Times.
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