Banking and insurance clients are reportedly seeking to hire dozens of former employees from Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG, according to Grafdom, leading global IT consultancy and strategic management firm.

Grafdom experiences a high demand for finance professionals in the Middle East, specifically from ailing giants in the US, said a company official.

"Similarly, exponential interest has been received from ex-Wall Street employees in search of lucrative opportunities in the Gulf with Grafdom’s HR Outsourcing division receiving hundreds of resumes on a weekly basis," said Brian Jackson, Business Development Director, Grafdom Mena.

"Interest in emerging financial markets like the Middle East has been profound over the last couple of weeks," he noted.

"We have witnessed tremendous flow of human capital which seems to be in relative proportion to the ever-increasing demand from our clients. Banks, insurance firms and financial consultancies are working with us quite proactively in attracting skilled labor with greater focus on high performers,” he noted.
 
“There are remarkable opportunities in this part of the world, especially for those with specialized skill-set and solid credentials. The region can potentially benefit from the global financial crisis which has resulted in the layoff of thousands of jobs over the course of this year,” he added.0

Demand for Grafdom’s Recruitment Outsourcing solutions has increased three-fold in 2008 with greater need coming from the finance, construction and hospitality sectors.-TradeArabia News Service