Banks chase top talent left high and dry by Lehman's

The collapse of the Wall Street firm last week sparked a "once in a generation" opportunity to pick up some of the brightest - and highest earning - names in the City, headhunters say.

Although the sale of the investment banking and share trading arms of Lehman yesterday to Nomura will persuade some to stay, many are still said to be keen to move on.

One employment lawyer said some banks were "clearing the decks" of weaker employees to make room for recruits from Lehman.

Many are only in their late thirties and early forties and were hired on multi-million pound packages between 2004 and 2007 in a push by Lehman to built up an investment banking business in Europe capable of competing with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Linda Jackson, director of career consultants Fairplace said that with all the big American banks suffering it was a golden chance for second-tier players to buy up high-calibre recruits.

She said: "Some of the European banks have been saying: 'We haven't been able to get our hands on good operational people for two years - now we can.' It is a huge relief for them that they can get people from the US banks." Headhunters moved into the coffee bars and cafes around the Lehman Brothers Canary Wharf HQ within hours of its collapse, setting up make-shift recruitment offices to cherry-pick the best people.

A list of likely targets, according to website www.wealth-bulletin.com, includes Luca Tassan, 38, who is an executive director and head of corporate and infrastructure acquisitions financing.

He joined Lehman Brothers last year from Royal Bank of Scotland and has since worked on some of the biggest takeover financing deals in Europe including the £5.3 billion Carlsberg acquisition of brewer Scottish & Newcastle. Mr Tassan lives in Docklands.

The respected 80-strong proprietary trading desk at Lehmans should get soaked up "within a fortnight", said one headhunter.

While many jobs have now been secured the outlook is still uncertain for thousands in the City. But headhunters say many will be able to secure jobs in the Middle East and Far East if they are prepared to leave London.

As one ditty in the City puts it: "It's Mumbai, Dubai, Shanghai or goodbye."