Investment banks have begun hiring more staff in a number of sectors, according to a survey by finance site efinancialcareers.com.

Banks were planning to make the biggest staff gains in fixed income and corporate finance. Smaller increases were predicted in equities, fund management, private banking, private equity and custody respectively.

These findings were supported by a number of financial recruitment consultants who were also polled by the website.

Hogarth Davies Lloyd said banks were hiring aggressively, particularly in credit derivatives and structured sales.

Mantaray said it was expecting hiring activity across all areas of structured products, particularly collateralised debt obligation, real estate and credit derivatives.

Whitehead Mann expected corporate headcount to rise and said financial institutions groups, healthcare and energy were other areas where recruitment activity appeared to be taking place as the market gradually recovers.