Banks’ search for currency dealers sparks talent war

Barclays Bank, which is one of the largest investors in the forex market, earned beyond one billion in forex trading only, according to the bank’s half year financial statement for 2010, reflecting the significance that banks have placed in the business.

Analytical skills

Currency dealers say the job requires highly analytical skills since they operate in a high pressure environment.

“The employees are entrusted with a lot of money hence the need for the best skills in the market,” said Mr Joshua Anene of the Commercial Bank of Africa.

“The dealer must be able to tolerate immense pressure ” said a dealer with the Commercial Bank of Africa.

The job, which requires high analytical skills and knowledge of global new trends, demands extra input of working hours to keep up with the constantly changing business environment.

Traders admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to forecast business trends due to the increasing speed of change in business news and politics as the world grows more interconnected due to the internet.

This year registered a reduced foreign exchange trading per shilling across the industry due to what dealers and industry leaders attributed to minimal volatility.

However banks with high capital investment and well trained staff managed to increase their returns compared to last year’s.