Yes, banks are still hiring ‘princelings’ in China
by
Thomas Zhang 6 November 2015
connections bring in profit
If nepotism exists anywhere in investment banking, it surely exists in China. Take J.P. Morgan’s recruitment of
25 year-old Joe Gao, son of the country’s Commerce Minister, or the
appointment of Levin Zhu, son of the former Chinese premier, as CEO of CICC.
However, both Gao and Zhu were appointed several years ago (in 2007 and 1999 respectively). After being called out for hiring the sons and daughters of Chinese officials (
fuerdai or
guanerdai in Mandarin), banks in the country are supposed to have cleaned up their acts. Have they?
Not exactly, say recruiters. “Hiring of fuerdai still happens all the time, but it’s not talked about in public now,” says Lesley Li, founder of Shanghai-based Matrix Search, an executive search firm. “People just chat about it over dinner or drinks.”
Although banks are still hiring fuerdai, recruiters say banks are hiring them because they’re strong candidates, not simply because of their family connections. In 2007, J.P. Morgan hired Joe Gao even though he was deemed one of the worst candidates the bank had ever seen and despite deeming him,
‘immature, irresponsible and unreliable.”
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Originally Posted by Chester Copperpot
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