Strategy
Bankers Benefits from Boom in Moscow

Investment bank executives top the list of Russia's highest-paid jobs with managing directors netting on average a cool $3 million pay packet, according to research by Forbes Russia. Oil company chiefs take second spot, with compensation averaging $2.4 million. In third place are chairmen of commercial banks with average salaries of $1.8 million. A boom in Russia 's capital markets has triggered a talent war among investment banks over the past year with salaries for bankers soaring. Ed Kaufman, one of the Russian capital's leading rainmakers, caused a stir earlier this year when he quit UBS to take up a lucrative post as chief executive of Alfa's investment banking business. Mr Kaufman is reputed to have been lured to Alfa by a guarantee of $15 million over two years. This year, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UBS have all lost top bankers from their Russian operations. Nearly every investment bank in Moscow has lost staff and competition has prompted rapid inflation of remuneration packages. Senior bankers can expect guaranteed payments of $10 million and junior staff are being offered $1 million to move. Mergers and acquisitions business in Russia was up 65 per cent last year on the previous 12 months, while debt issuance rose more than 80 per cent and equity volumes trebled.