How much am I worth? Senior credit trader, international bank

A panel of specialist headhunters give their assessment of typical London pay packages: Senior credit trader, international bank: salary 100,000, total package up to 400,000-500,000.

If you wished to define the archetypal City character - brash, aggressive, quick-thinking and decisive - you would be hard-pressed to find someone better suited to the role than a credit trader.

They know their mind and the ins and outs of their business better than anybody. The best do not suffer fools gladly - indeed, on a bad day even their sales staff will tread lightly - but senior management will cut them slack, knowing they can be relied upon to bring business in.

"The fact remains that traders are the heart that pumps the life blood into the City," says Chris Scott, a former credit trader who now heads the credit trading division at recruitment firm Napier Scott.

They are also relatively high profile. "A good trade will eventually be recognised in the market, as will the trader," he says.

Like everyone else, however, the typical senior credit trader is having a tough, unpredictable year not helped by the fact many banks are restructuring their credit trading departments to offer clients a better product - and save themselves money.

This has meant credit trading has become more sector-focused, rather than, as before, currency-focused, while several houses have merged their cash and credit derivative trading teams.

The result has been two-fold: on the one hand, there have been some redundancies with even experienced traders laid off; on the other, the new reality has spelled opportunity for the very best credit traders with good track records in what is still a highly volatile market. Most of these have found they are able to attract a premium salary.

"We have witnessed increased demand for traders who understand their clients' business and have the ability to work well with the sales force and with credit research," says Rebecca Lea at

Alexander Mann Global Markets (AMGM).

Those who have done best, in terms of remuneration, are those who have kept ahead of the dramatic and fast changing market: credit derivatives and other even more complex new products now form an increasing share of the credit traders' palette.

Scott stresses that the total package paid to a successful credit trader is extremely variable but says that a senior trader with five years plus experience could expect a total package of around 500,000 - particularly at the US investment banks, which have tended to ride the current volatility in the credit trading market better than most other houses.

That said, credit traders should expect another tough six or so months, particularly at second tier institutions. Although with equity markets still in the doldrums, fixed income is the place to be - with fixed income credit trading in particular enjoying strong growth and profit potential - things remain unpredictable, with new issues few and much of the activity taking place on the secondary market.

"Again it is those traders in the larger, global institutions that can take the lead on opportunities whilst the rest chase the train," says Scott.

Contributors include Alexander Mann Global Markets (AMGM) and Napier Scott