The bank’s new Malaga hub for junior bankers is innovative but will require some serious management effort.
Citi is hiring 30 would-be bankers from around Europe for a “junior banking analytics group”. They will be paid about half the $100,000 starting salary received by the 100 first-year analysts it hires annually in New York, Frankfurt or London. On the other hand, the Malaga team will not be expected to work long evening hours or sacrifice weekends.
The bank insists Malaga is no experiment. But if it is to make its version of the future of work stick, it will also need to manage it carefully.
Executives will have to scotch any muttering from employees elsewhere that the Malaga operation is somehow “Citi-lite” or a slow track for plodders. They will need to ensure the career paths of the Malaga recruits link to opportunities elsewhere in the group. Above all, they will have to be vigilant about policing the better balance they promise.
“Que paséis muy bien, chicos” (have a great time, guys), commented a more enthusiastic FT reader, pointing out that $50,000 is a good salary for a 23-year-old in Malaga. But burnout by the beach is still burnout.
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