A New Standard for Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered was busy talking about how great it was with compliance, no issues here thank you very much, and then a New York financial regulator came out Monday and said oops, the bank actually had been hiding $250 billion worth of transactions with the Iranians over seven years.

So what's a job seeker to do? On the one hand, the reputation of the British bank has taken a beating. On the other hand, Standard Chartered is one of the few banks in the world actually hiring. Just last week, Standard Chartered said it would fill between 1,000 and 1,500 positions around the world in the second half of the year. Contrast that with banks like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, which are assiduously shedding from their payrolls.

What it essentially comes down to is how much you care about a bank's reputation (and by extension, some of its practices that form that reputation). Certainly the U.K. bank isn't alone in having reputation issues: J.P. Morgan, HSBC and Barclays have all that have come under fire for various issues over the summer.

Standard Chartered will end up paying a fine and probably reinforce the controls (or lack thereof) that allowed the alleged transactions to occur. It will also probably continue operating in the regions it's known for, namely Asia, Africa and the Middle East, even if it loses its license in New York.

Landing in China (Financial News)

Citigroup has launched a joint venture in China that will allow it to underwrite debt and equity securities. The bank will also advise on M&A.

Plan B (eFinancialCareers)

Used to be you could get laid off and go to a second-tier bank. Not anymore. Now you may have to consider options like accounting or private companies that aren't banks.

Moving Firms (Dow Jones)

TD Securities has hired Scott Gewirtz of Nomura to head the bank's U.S. Treasury trading. He'll continue to be based in New York.

Candid Camera (SocialTimes)

We'd like to say that looks don't matter, but we'd be lying. A new infographic finds that recruiters spend nearly 20% of their time checking out your picture on LinkedIn. It's time to go professional with these bad boys and get some glamor shots.

Keep It to Yourself (Bloomberg Businessweek)

No one cares about your pet bird or your children or your next doctor's appointment. Keep your relationship with your colleagues cordial, not overly chummy.

Taking it Literally (Business Insider)

For what it's worth, if we asked someone to "add a little color" to their application and they sent back rainbow text, we'd laugh out loud at their gumption. And hire them.

Buzz Around the Office

One Long Joyride (MSN)

A 13-year-old Ohio native who "borrowed" his mom's BMW had his joyride cut short when he was apprehended in an alley in Kansas City, Mo. – a full 650 miles away.

List of the Day: What Not to Say

When going on vacation, it's natural to want to turn on the "out-of-office" assistant. But try to avoid saying these things.

1. Remarks about how you're "finally" taking a vacation.

2. That you're checking email occasionally and will respond to urgent matters. Duh.

3. Specific times, like you'll be out Friday from 3 p.m. to Tuesday at 7 a.m.

(Source: MoneyWatch)