Citigroup is setting up shop in the idyllic town of Malaga, Spain in hopes of luring thirtysomething junior bankers who want warm weather most of the year, a relatively low cost of living — and the beautiful Mediterranean coastline. The Wall Street bank is planning to open up a hub in the southern Spanish resort town in hopes of giving the company a leg up on attracting new hires as competition for their services grows ever more fierce, according to Financial Times. Citi is also offering potential employees 40-hour work weeks and weekends off — a far cry from the stressful, burning-the-candles-at-both-ends environment that has led to an exodus of talent from Wall Street’s top investment firms. The Malaga-based work force will earn a starting salary of at least $50,000 — about half the wage paid to junior bankers who start their careers in global financial hubs like London or New York. “The message is clear: the key driver behind many junior departures is the search for a better work-life balance,” Citigroup’s global co-head of investment banking Manolo Falco told FT. “At Citi, we are listening and to address this [we are offering] an improved and batter-balanced lifestyle [which] will be a defining feature” of the Malaga location, Falco said. Junior bankers who are up to the job will be given the opportunity to apply for a full-time role as an analyst. The finance sector has seen a backlash against the Wall Street investment banks who have been accused of forcing junior staffers to shoulder the burden of intense, 15-hour-a-day workloads. Last year, junior employees at Goldman Sachs leaked a PowerPoint presentation which detailed grueling 105-hour workweeks that left them burnt out. An exodus of talent from several major Wall Street firms has led companies to improve terms of employment, including higher salaries, bonuses, and perks like free Peloton bikes, tablets, and wireless headphones. Malaga, a resort town of some half a million people, is known as a tourism hub, though in recent years it has managed to attract a slew of tech companies.
