Banking

20-Feb-2008

Hiring in the banking sector may not be as strong as before the credit crunch, but nevertheless there has been a slight increase since the start of the year

The number of job vacancies in the banking sector increased at the start of the year, according to latest figures from reed.co.uk’s Market Index.

The sector suffered a dip in vacancies in the last three months of 2007, demonstrated in October by Greatfleet, who revealed it was experiencing weakness in its banking recruitment business due to the uncertainty in the financial services marketplace. The dip was expected to impact on its full year financials.

Reed.co.uk’s index revealed that in England there were just under 5,000 permanent vacancies on offer and around 250 temporary vacancies. In Wales there were around 50 permanent jobs up for grabs and no available temporary positions. Scotland had 160 permanent banking vacancies and only two for temporary positions in the sector.

Sarah Butcher, editor of eFinancialCareers.com, says: “A few months ago, redundancies in banking were limited to the credit sector. However, with the credit crisis continuing and many banks making hefty write downs, job losses are now spreading to roles like corporate finance and equities as well.

“Not surprisingly, therefore, the number of new jobs on offer from banks in areas like structured credit and leveraged finance is down compared to a year ago, while the number of new candidates seeking banking jobs has risen as redundancies force people onto the market.”

Butcher says that some banks have been reducing bonuses in the hope that employees would make their own decisions to leave; however, with so few alternative positions available, many are sticking it out and banks are being forced to make cuts.

“This doesn’t mean hiring has seized up completely. We’re seeing strong demand for staff across everything from accounting and IT, to compliance and risk. Areas like prime brokerage, equity derivatives and rates are also active. Smaller banks are looking to pick up high quality people let go by their larger rivals,” adds Butcher.

Reed.co.uk’s figures reveal that temporary salaries in the sector have generally been increasing, while temporary salaries have declined. In England the average permanent salary is around £33,000, compared to £23,000 for temporary positions. In Wales permanent roles can command around £39,000 and in Scotland permanent earnings are on average £38,000.

Ryan Edwards, marketing director of CityJobs.com, told Recruiter: “While there have been lots of headlines about the state of the City economy and there is caution in certain sectors, CityJobs.com is still seeing a relatively buoyant market within its niche sector of skilled back- and mid-office professionals within financial institutions — roles which are at the heart of the City economy.”

Edwards says, year-on-year, CityJobs has seen a healthy increase in the number of vacancies and the number of applications on the site has risen compared to January 2007.

“In particular, we have seen an increase in demand for business analysts, finance analysts and finance accountants, with little or no change in salaries,” Edwards says.

However, the banking sector is still holding its breath to see what the full extent of the credit crunch will be. Robert Thesiger, chief executive of Imprint, says that is unlikely to be known until the end of March when the majority of bonuses have been paid and credit crunch related banking write downs should have worked their way through the system.

“We will have to wait to see whether recent market panics are a short-term blip or something more protracted and in turn what effect this will have on employers’ appetite to hire,” Thesiger adds.