The Times' Prufrock column reports that the two former City types who founded website yourgolftravel.com in 2005 are now looking for a new hire for the perfect job.
On offer is up to £50,000 to travel round the world for a year and play and review golf courses! Not surprisingly, over 4,000 people are said to have applied for the role, including former Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley bankers. The deadline for entries is 31st October.
Applicants should be warned, however, that the selection criteria for this post rivals that of Goldman Sachs in its intensity. A rather long 'shortlist' of 36 will be scaled back to 18, who will play in a golf tournament at Celtic Manor in November (Celtic Manor is where the 2010 Ryder Cup will be contested). To the winner will go the job spoils.
And for those bankers more worried about their bonuses than playing golf, there appears to be some good news. Finance ministers meeting in London this weekend failed to come up with a specific plan to regulate compensation. Although there was broad agreement that something should be done, the matter was referred to The Financial Stability Board to come up with recommendations to put before the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh in 3 weeks. Insiders say that this is a sign that a uniform approach to this matter is probably out of the question. In other words, anything that comes out of the G20 meeting is unlikely to have real teeth.
One banker told Here Is The City: 'All this bonus-bashing makes good politics, but lousy economics. Limiting bonuses will only result in prolonging the recession, and politicians are aware that they need a fairly quick fix or they are likely to be voted out of office at the earliest opportunity'.
