Hays Banking - January 2008

Hotspots

Australia's banking recruitment market will be very active in the first quarter of 2008, with demand for candidates high. Demand exists within junior lending for tellers, customer service officers, loans processing candidates, credit analysts, business bankers and assistant relationship managers across retail, BB and corporate.

Within wealth management planning support candidates, financial planning graduates, client services and investment administrators are required. Meanwhile within senior banking business development managers and relationship managers are in demand across corporate, commercial and property finance. Those with property investment banking and M&A experience are in particular demand. Conversely, the demand for BDM's in the mortgage/consumer area has declined due to a general slowdown in the market and problems associated with the sub-prime crisis in the United States.

Temporary candidate requirements have slowed compared to the previous quarter, although candidates are still required within stockbroking, retail banking, CSO, equipment finance, settlements, loans support and superannuation.

The coming quarter

The commencement of a new year brings with it new sales targets and a demand for sales and business development candidates to help reach these targets. Over the coming quarter we expect activity in the temporary recruitment market to increase, especially for settlements and documentation preparation candidates while we expect a decline in loans processing and credit assessor roles.

In Sydney entry-level mortgage credit analyst roles, which were previously in high demand, have significantly reduced in number.

Executive recruitment

Executive vacancy activity in the banking market is very high, with demand focused on senior relationship managers and business development managers rather than leadership roles for which there is a surplus of candidates. Within Sydney's senior banking market demand remains for institutional credit analysts and analysts within structured finance.

Salaries

While we do not anticipate huge increases in salaries over the next quarter, target-driven sales roles are at a premium, allowing high-performing candidates to achieve a salary in accordance with their successes.

Candidate trends

The banking market is extremely candidate short across Australia, but in good news for employers we do expect a surge in candidate flow in the first quarter of 2008. Candidates often receive multiple offers, which is placing pressure on employers to make decisions about their preferred candidate quickly.