Private banks look for staff with strong relationships

So say top recruiters in Europe's leading financial centres. Their claims are supported by job advertisements: during the past month, Investec Private Bank, Barclays Private Client Services, Schroders Private Bank and UBS Warburg are among those who have been advertising for private banking expertise.

The qualities of desirable candidates described in the adverts are uncannily similar. Most banks are looking for individuals with at least four of five years of private banking experience. A strong client base and wide product knowledge are imperative.

At the top end of the market, six figure pay packages remain commonplace. Christian Sulger Buel, a headhunter, said experienced private bankers in London, Geneva and Zurich typically earn a basic salary of 70,000-90,000 (€111,000-143,000).

This is supplemented by bonuses of anything up to one third of the revenues generated by the individual during the year. Bonuses are highest at US banks.

Basic pay is less generous elsewhere in Europe. Jürgen Merkel of headhunters MB Consulting in Frankfurt said that private bankers with more than four years' experience typically earn a basic salary of €75,000. Bonuses can be up to 300% of this.

In Frankfurt, CSFB, Hypovereinsbank, Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg are all looking to increase their German private banking teams, said Merkel. There are plenty of applicants, but must are unsuitable: 'Everyone needs private bankers with VIP contacts; very few candidates have them.'

James Anderson, a recruiter at The Fox Partnership, which is managing UBS Warburg's hunt for private bankers in the UK, said candidates were expected to have specific attributes.

Applicants should have between 10 and 15 years experience and currently manage $100 million of assets, of which at least 30% should be able to follow them to a new employer within the next 12 to 18 months.

UBS Warburg is said by anither headhunter to be looking for another 10-12 private bankers in 2002.

Private banking recruitment is less dynamic in France. Denis Marcadet, at headhunters Vendômes Associés, said demand for private bankers had fallen since the summer: 'Teams are full up; the market is very low.' The few remaining vacancies are all for experienced relationship managers, Marcadet said.

Parisian private bankers with more than 12 years experience earn between €50,000 and €120,000, plus a bonus of between 15% and 25%. Individuals with three to five years experience can expect to earn no more than €45,000 to €50,000 in Paris.

Headhunters say that in all but a few cases, it is now difficult to move from investment banking to private banking. Christian Sulger Buel said: 'Two years ago private banks were testing the water with people with outside experience. Today they only want senior private bankers with a strong client base. There is no room for training.'

Investment bankers who made the move are said to be content. Dudley Edmonds, a director at London-based Private Banking Executive Search Limited, said private banking is seen as providing a more stable career.

'Corporate financiers who were making between $1 and $2 million are making between $100,000 and $200,000 as private bankers. But most are happy to be off the investment banking roller coaster.'