How much am I worth?Head of international markets, corporate finance, European 2nd tier firm

A panel of specialist headhunters give their assessment of typical London pay packages:

Head of international markets, corporate finance, European 2nd tier house: salary - 110,000-120,000, total package between 550,000-1m

Patience is not normally a virtue one would associate with the City's financial institutions and nowhere has this been truer than in corporate finance.

Given that this is not normally an area where things move quickly - indeed, endurance and stamina are what make reputations - there is irony in the speed with which the corporate finance departments of second tier houses have been dismantled.

Management seems determined not to be caught out by the current gloomy market conditions, and sees the axing of corporate finance capability as a sure and easy way to cut costs.

&quotWe are seeing teams being unwound or folded into other parts of a given organization," says Shirin Stanley of > Global Management (AMGM).

Some firms are reviewing the viability of their corporate finance departments sector by sector while others are consolidating and centralising relationship teams.

&quotAgainst this backdrop and the prevailing mood in the stock markets, remuneration continues its downward spiral, with guarantees becoming a thing of the past," says Stanley.

Other recruitment specialists echo this view. Owen Beere of Wellington Consulting says the prolonged downturn in equity markets and M&A activity has provoked an unprecedented shake out in the industry, with financial institutions falling over themselves to grab the same business.

&quotIn these uncertain times being at the top at a 2nd tier European house is a veritable roller coaster," he says. He points out that with less overall business to go around, the second-tier houses have been looking to carve out a niche in small and middle-sized cap deals, rather than the large premium deals worth mega-bucks, as this can bring a more reliable revenue flow.

The trouble is, everyone else seems to have had the same idea, with high-profile M&A and other traditional corporate finance activity being so slow. Even bulge bracket houses are now dropping their minimum deal levels to get a taste of this smaller pie that means more and more houses are chasing fewer deals and having to pitch endlessly, with little or nothing to show for their efforts.

As a result the job market for corporate finance professionals has been virtually dead, with most people clinging to their jobs for want of any viable alternative and putting up with meagre bonuses that in some cases have been at or close to zero.

However for good people, the second tier houses are still prepared to pay what it costs to stay ahead of the competition, with base salaries of 130,000 and bonuses taking the package well over the 500,000 mark. Share options and equity often push the total much higher than that for top people.

Ted Tracey of TMP Worldwide says somebody with a really strong background - say 15 years, with plenty of high quality investment banking experience and a good mix of origination and people management skills - can earn 2m a year on a three-year guarantee, with 4 million in share options vesting over a 3-5 year period.

With lack of cash and revenue flow an increasing concern amongst second tier houses, compensation through equity or share options is growing, with most corporate financiers now expecting it to form an increasing part of the total package.

Figures and commentary provided by Alexander Mann Global Markets, Wellington Consulting and TMP Worldwide