Financial Services Information

Bahrain undoubtedly is the financial hub of the Middle East. It is also internationally known to be the most diversified economy in the Gulf region. Unlike other countries in the Gulf region that depend heavily on oil and gas production, in Bahrain, the contribution of this sector is merely 14% of GDP (2007). The most thriving sector in Bahrain currently is the financial sector. Thus, there is no dearth of banking jobs in Bahrain. These financial sector jobs have been increasing as the sector has seen ample growth over the past few years and Bahrain has become an attractive career destination for qualified expatriates in this field. Other than the financial sector, other booming sectors in the region include professional services, logistics, ICT, and manufacturing sectors. Read more details about it right here now.

Bahrain boasts of the highest and most transparent regulatory and supervisory standards in its financial sector and has thus become the most established financial hub which has attracted investors for businesses in this field. Despite being such a small country, it has attracted a lot of foreign investment in this region as it is the tried and tested ground for banking and insurance sector. In the region, there are more than 400 licensed financial institutions which contribute nearly 27% of GDP (2007). These institutions operate in banking, insurance and funds. Also, Bahrain is a hub for Islamic finance as the largest number of Islamic financial institutions is located in the region. Owing to these reasons banking jobs in Bahrain have become quite attractive to skilled professionals across the globe.

Bahrain banking jobs are very lucrative too. The prime reason for this is that it is a tax-free region. Thus, no taxes are levied on the compensation of an individual. This is a major puller for expatriates who throng the region to take up such jobs and make savings for a lifetime. These expatriates take up jobs on contractual basis and leave the country at the end of their term but by the time they leave, they save enough money to make the period of stay worthwhile. The quality and the standard of lifestyle offered in Bahrain are also world-class. Though one might find a huge difference in culture but with an open mind, one can enjoy the luxuries offered by the place. One has to be a little open-minded to settle well in the country and accept all the good that it has to offer.

To get a Bahrain banking job, one can apply through various mediums such as recruitment firms operating in the area, newspapers, job sites and also by directly applying to these banks that regularly advertise their vacancies on their websites. If going through a recruitment agency, it is always advisable to choose a certified agency because there are a lot of sham companies operating in this field who make unsuspecting job searchers a prey. Once short listed, the candidates have to go through a comprehensive selection procedure as the standards of selection in top financial companies are also very high. The employer becomes the sponsor of the expatriates who work in Bahrain. In your employment contract, there are other included benefits too. For instance, many employers offer housing, education for children and one annual free trip back home to employees. Considering these benefits, a banking job in Bahrain becomes a sought after one.

Despite the current economic downturn, Bahrains established status as the financial capital of the Middle East is ready to weather these tough times. The sector has seen a surging employment growth in Bahrain’s financial industry in the last few years. There is an emphasis on employing local Bahrainis as the countrys education system has evolved and is producing graduates ready to take up jobs. However, there is still a lot of demand for foreign workers. Prominent financial services companies operating in Bahrain include some big international names such as AIG, American Express, Bank of China, Citibank, European Islamic Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Hanover Re, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, Lazard, Merrill Lynch, and Standard Chartered. The expansion of these firms in the region has ensured that more and more jobs are being created each year. Apart from banking, insurance and funds are the other two branches in the finance sector that are employing expatriates in large numbers.

The Enercon E126 launched five years ago is still the world’s largest wind turbine with a production capacity of 7.5 MW. Harnessing wind energy has been in practice since times immemorial, with sailors harnessing it with the use of sails. The idea of utilizing the kinetic energy of wind to produce electricity came to the Scottish academic James Blyth when he installed the first electricity generating wind turbine as a battery-charging machine in July 1887 to light his holiday home in Marykirk, Scotland. Windmills have been used traditionally for other purposes like, pulling water out from wells, grinding grains, etc. The idea that wind energy could be utilized for commercial production of electricity became a reality when a prototype model of the modern horizontal-axis wind generators came into service at Yalta, USSR in 1931. The first utility grid-connected wind turbine to operate in the UK was built by John Brown & Company in 1951 in the Orkney Islands while as of 2012 Vestas is the largest manufacturers of wind turbines.

India has been one of the major producers of wind power with an installed capacity of 19051.5 MW. India ranks fifth in terms of installed wind power capacities, with Tamil Nadu being the major producer with 7154 MW of installed power capacity. The current energy scenario suggests that renewable energy is the way to go, as fossil fuels along with their exhaustible nature are majorly the cause for global warming. The unsustainable use of non-renewable resources has been touted as the major cause for the increasing global GHG emissions. Climate change mitigation strategies all around the world are advocating for the use of renewable energy sources.

Sources like solar, wind, biomass and water are the major options currently available for renewable energy production. While water and biomass are gaining popularity in India, solar and wind energy are lagging behind in terms of production capacity. The high prices per unit of electricity produced from solar panels are one of the reasons why solar energy has not gained the desired popularity. Wind energy on the other hand is gaining popularity in India with The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) having aimed to reach a target of 10,500 MW during the period, 2007-12, but an additional generation capacity of only about 6,000 MW was to be made available for commercial use by 2012. As of January 2013, India boasts of an installed capacity of 19051.5 MW.

The positives of electricity production from wind energy do not however cover up the fact that Wind Turbines are possibly the one of the most harmful among the renewable energy options available to us today. A recent report published by the CSE on the impact assessment of Wind turbine projects to be set up in Maharashtra have raised many an eyebrows on the issue of renewable energy’s -cleanliness-. The report mentions the harmful side-effects of utilizing wind turbines for electricity generation among its advantages as well. According to the study, wind projects set up on forestland and hilly areas can have a greater impact on water resources and ecology as compared to those in plains. The major disadvantage for humans is observed in case the turbines are placed near human settlements. Residents will be affected by the loud noises and the shadow flicker effect that is commonly associated with the wind turbines. Ecologically, birds and bats are affected severely due to the changing air pressures caused by the swiftly rotating turbines. Turbines also cause extreme soil erosion in forested and hilly areas causing a phenomenon known as linear erosion of soil. It has been observed in cases of large wind farms that the rotating blades cause many bird fatalities. All these ecological atrocities are the reason why there is a need for a paradigm shift from the conventional wind energy generation.

It is observed that instead of installing multiple small wind turbines in wind farms it is usually ecologically more efficient to have one large turbine operating in the area. The velocity of the blades is lower than the small turbines thereby reducing the combined effects of shadow flicker and linear fragmentation of soil. Offshore wind turbines have proven to be more effective as compared to terrestrial/onshore ones. Current plan to install around 10,000 MW capacity wind farms in Maharashtra may prove disastrous to the ecology as well as to the population of the area.

For more information visit: Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd.

Loan modification is still the #1 best alternative to foreclosure. But getting one through requires some little-known information and strategy. Youve got to know what the banks are looking for, and how to fill out the paperwork so you not only qualify for loan modification, but get in on those unheard of two and three percent interest rates that can make your monthly payment go down by as much as 40 – 50%!

Banks are allowing some pretty unbelievable workouts with unheard of low rates. Has there ever been a time when you got a 2% interest rate! That is happening everyday to some people. Will you ever have this opportunity to lock in these silly low rates again? Probably not, so take your loan modification paperwork VERY seriously and dont talk yourself out of your own modification.

If youre one of the millions who make up 1 in 7 homes in foreclosure or default, then what youre about to learn can stop your foreclosure and substantially reduce your monthly mortgage payment giving you the financial relief you need to stay afloat and stabilize your life with lower mortgage payments now and over the long run.

The main problem – and what stands between you and a modified lower monthly payment has been perfectly summed up in this recent Los Angeles Times article

Getting loans through the system to the modification finish line is tough for banks and loan servicers, says Douglas Potolsky, Chase Home Lending senior vice president. The main obstacle, he and other banks say, is borrowers who dont properly complete their paperwork.

The trick is to know how to fill out the darn paperwork so you dont talk yourself right out of your own modification!

90% of the loan modification requests are not going through because people fill out their paperwork to their DISADVANTAGE. They either disqualify themselves because they show they make too much, or too little, to afford the NEW modified payment thats the lower one thats based on the 2% to 4% rates that bank can give you in modification, but wont if your financials and other paperwork pieces qualify for this payment.

90% of the people who fill out the paperwork for loan modification do not know how the banks are looking at their numbers and story. Banks actually have a couple of formulas they work by when calculating your financials in relation to your hardship letter, pay stubs, checking account statements, and past 2 years of income tax returns. You must make all of these pieces jibe together for one consistent financial hardship story.

Basically this is how you want to fill out the main two pieces of paperwork for loan modification the hardship letter and financial worksheet:

1.Hardship letter: Be consistent and make sure the hardship story and the numbers you provide on your financial worksheet make one strong, consistent picture. In about 1 1 pages, make sure you give the following information in this sequence:
a.Include your loan number at the top
b.ASK for a loan modification in the first sentence
c.Make it evident that you are capable of earning consistent income, but right now, your hardship is making your mortgage – and life – unaffordable. Tell them you need help
d.Explain with emotion all of the reasons youre in hardship. Banks are especially looking for things like reduced or lost income from one or more household members, increased expenses that were unexpected or unavoidable, a medical problem that left you sick or disabled and from earning income, and/or caused increased expenses, etc.
e.ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT ask for a low interest rate (2%-3%) for the first 5 years while you get back on your feet; and then ask that they stretch your loan term out to 40 years; and that the remaining 35 years be at 4% to 5%. Use an amortization calculator (search online) and calculate what your payment would be at 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%. Tell them that you CAN afford payments based on a 2%, 3% right now, and that later, because of better work projections or opportunities or whatever reason that you can later afford a payment based on 4% or 5%. I always ask for 2% for the first 5 years and then 4% to 5% for the rest of a 40 year loan when I help people fill out their paperwork.
f.Close with a sentence or two that tells them you want to keep you and your family in your home (mention of kids if you have them helps) and that you want to avoid foreclosure and further damage to your credit.

2.Financial worksheet/Personal budget: Get this form from your bank. Your modification will go through faster and cleaner is you use the banks form instead of making your own Excel spreadsheet. One of the banks formulas I was telling you about comes into play when they review your financial worksheet. This is where most people blow their chances for getting a modification. The banks are looking to see that you can afford the new, modified payment the one based on 2% or 3% with about $200 to $300 left over. This is a fine line between showing that you dont make too much or too little to afford the modified payment. This is how you get to that balancing point:
a.For now, where you see the line to write in your monthly mortgage expense, do not put in your current payment. Put in the modified payment youre going after the one that you calculated with the amortization calculator at 2% (or 3%) or somewhere in between. This is a temporary placeholder for the purpose of getting the sum of this payment plus all your other monthly expenses minus your monthly income to come out to about $200 – $300 left over. Then, before you fax in this worksheet with your other paperwork, make sure you erase that lower mortgage payment that served as a placeholder to make all of your numbers jibe, fill in your actual, current mortgage payment. Or make a copy of the blank worksheet like I do then its clean as a whistle.
b.Write in your income and all of your other expenses. The trick is using some of the categories that are not easily tracked like your monthly food, gas, and credit card payments that you can increase or decrease if you need to get your end balance to be at that $200 – $300 left over after Income minus Expenses. Realize that they will be cross-checking the numbers on your financial worksheet with your checking account statements (you submit the past two months checking and savings bank statements). Realize too that if you have a bunch of money (over $2,000 or $3,000 sitting in savings), that the bank will see this as a place you can pull from and pay them.

Most people don’t understand what’s behind the banks strategy and that they are indeed debt collectors! They want to make sure you can pay or theyre not going to give you a new loan (modified loan). People don’t realize what they should ask for, what to say … and what not to say … or how to talk to their bank to get the right story on record. Because they dont have this critical insight, many are losing out on the best loan modification opportunity of the century.

I help and counsel people through loan modification, and have an eBook that outlines steps to modification and virtually every other option you can take to avoid foreclosure in my book called, How to Survive Foreclosure or Avoid it Altogether.
Learn more at

How to Survive your Foreclosure or Avoid it Altogether

Owning and operating your own business is not the easiest task to undertake. The market fluctuates constantly, and consumers’ needs are flighty, making it impossible to know just what kind of financial future you are making for yourself. If you are a new business owner and it is your first time in this position, things can quickly overwhelm you, especially when it comes to your financial management. If you are having a tough time keeping your finances straight, it may be time to consider hiring someone who can keep track of the finances for you.

Do You Need a Bookkeeper?

When you are first starting out, being a business owner is going to throw you quite a few curves. While planning and studying the business can give you an idea of the way you want to run things, the fact is that until you actually put those ideas into play, you will have no idea whether or not you will be successful. Even the most financially acute minds can have trouble balancing that checkbook once you add in the other stresses that come along with owning your business. This doesn’t mean that you are inept or that your business will fail! Rather, it may be an indication that you need a bookkeeper who is centered on the finances.

Quick Fix

If you have been running your finances perfectly and have just now hit your first mistake, it doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel just yet! We are all human and mistakes will be made from time to time. The difference here is that a mistake in the finances of a business can actually leave it in a lurch. For these times that you need a bit of help getting from one week to the next, a merchant cash advance may be able to act as a means to an end.

The financial aspect of running a new business is generally the toughest thing to conquer. It takes a bit of learning to make sure that you are well aware of your expenses versus your income, and for you to use that knowledge to properly budget your finances. No company can survive if it is constantly looking for a way to make it from one week to the next and if you find yourself in that position, it may be time to hire someone to manage your finances.

Most newbies wish to find out how financial certifications help them with their professional aspirations and which exam makes most sense to go for.

Considering the fact that the candidates are from different backgrounds, the answer cannot be generalized. There are some who are already, in some way are related to the finance industry, some coming with IT backgrounds, some already possess a solid knowledge of financial products and involved instruments and a good general understanding of the industry, then there are those who before going for graduation in quant degree, would like to build up a more solid foundation with an official exam.

Some of the most sought after certifications are:

> Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) offered by CFA Institute (formerly known as AIMR):

Three levels –

* The Level I : introduction to asset valuation, financial reporting and analysis, and portfolio management techniques.

* The Level II :asset valuation, and includes applications of the tools and inputs (including economics, financial reporting and analysis, and quantitative methods) in asset valuation.

* The Level III : portfolio management, and includes strategies for applying the tools, inputs, and asset valuation models in managing equity, fixed income, and derivative investments for individuals and institutions.

> Financial Risk Manager (FRM) offered by GARP – Global Association of Risk Professionals

Two Parts –

Part I:

* Financial Markets and Products

* Foundations of Risk Management

* Quantitative Analysis

* Valuation and Risk Models

Part II:

* Market Risk Measurement and Management

* Credit Risk Measurement and Management

* Operational and Integrated Risk Management

* Risk Management and Investment Management

* Current Issues in Financial Markets

> Professional Risk Managers (PRM) offered by PRMIA – Professional Risk Managers International Association

Four Exams –
* EXAM I: Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets
* EXAM II: Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement
* EXAM III: Risk Management Practices
* EXAM IV: Case Studies, PRMIA Standards of Best Practice, Conduct and Ethics, Bylaws

Then there are others like :
> The Financial Services Authority (FSA), a universal British finance regulator; you can take these two exams either together or separately, and theres also certificates in Investment Management and Corporate Finance if youre going down that route. (www.sii.org.uk)

> Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) – focuses the fundamental concepts and techniques for modeling and managing risk

> Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) – centres around knowledge in the identification, measurements and management of risk within riskbearing enterprises

> Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) – deals with financial decisions concerning retirement benefits, life insurance, annuities, health insurance, investments, finance, and enterprise risk management are made, including the application of advanced concepts and techniques for modeling and managing risk. (http://www.soa.org/education)

The thing they all have in common is that these certifications:
> help you to better equip yourself with the essential knowledge to pursue a career in finance
> empower you by adding credentials to your resume
> expand your professional opportunities
> provides you with the ability to network with some of the worlds leading finance professionals

Lets consider what the most sought after certifications have in store for you :

Talking from curriculum perspective:

The FRM curriculum goes into the detail on areas of financial and non-financial risk while the CFA curriculum provides a broad view of financial analysis in general.

The FRM Level 1 syllabus will overlap with some part of the CFA curriculum, mainly in the areas of quantitative analysis, portfolio theory, derivatives, and fixed income securities etc.

The FRM and CFA overlap at Level 2 is minimal. Still, some concepts that are mentioned briefly in the CFA curriculum, such as value at risk, credit risk, risk budgeting, and hedge funds, are expanded upon in level 2 FRM curriculum.

Exclusive to the FRM exams are readings on operational and integrated risk management, Basel II, current issues in financial markets, and case studies in risk management.

Broadly speaking, the FRM exams tend to have more of a quantitative focus than the CFA exams.

Regarding PRM syllabus, its almost the same as FRM syllabus with an overlap of almost 80-90%.
PRM is a bit more extensive and rigorous on quantitative part. CFAs or Actuaries who want a risk management certification prefer PRM since it grants them exemption of upto 2 exams.

CFA and FRM Exam are slightly more popular among test- takers and among employers because it has a longer history, however PRM is quickly gaining ground and all three designations have come to be equally respected.

Talking about the job opportunities:
The key thing to note is that job markets are diverse.
The CFA is helpful if you want to work in equity research or, say, become a debt analyst.
The FRM/PRM would be more relevant to a risk manager.
For other Financial Services jobs (e.g., consulting, sales, management), these credentials are elements that complement your overall presentation.
Like the MBA, they dont buy you advancement per se, rather they enhance your resume.

Let me assure you that among the industry, there is NO prevailing argument for or against one of the exams.

So take a look at the syllabi, test-structure and most importantly your long term career goals to make out which one suite you the best.
Once you zero-in, take the plunge!