Salary survey: Private banking bonuses rise for some staff

Competition to provide financial services to wealthy individuals

has helped maintain salary levels in the private banking sector.

Median salaries held steady over the past year for the nearly 20

positions in small and medium-sized firms surveyed by the Monks Partnership, the remuneration consultancy.

A few of the top positions registered significant increases in bonuses

earlier this year, compared to the previous year.

However headhunters say the employment market in private banking has been softening this year, especially among the large investment banks which over the previous two years had ramped up resources in Europe in a bid to land lucrative fees from servicing the wealthy.

This area had long been the domain of niche institutions such as Coutts & Co and

Lombard Odier.

Senior banking positions were the only ones in the Monks survey to register significant gains in

total remuneration, reflecting the premium placed on essential intangibles such as relationships and personality.

However, the most senior position surveyed - managing director - recorded a slight dip in total pay as a result of smaller bonuses.

Median base pay for directors held roughly steady at 91,000 (€144,000) but

bonuses as a percentage of salary more than doubled to 30% of base pay

compared to 12% last year.

Assistant directors picked up a 6,000 gain in median base pay to 66,000 on top of an increase in bonus levels from 15% to 26%. Median salary held level for mangers at 40,000, but bonus levels increased from 9% to 14%.

The calibre of those in the private banking profession has changed over

the past decade, according to one headhunter, which could explain why

salary levels continue to rise or hold steady.

Barnaby Parker, sales director at recuitment consultancy Project

Partners, said: 'There is now a much broader range of products on offer

to the clients of the private banks and those clients are now much more sophisticated and expect a much greater service than they did 5 years ago.

"Subsequently we have seen demand for individuals with a broad knowledge of these products and the ability to set up these services.'

In August Morgan Stanley said it was cutting about 5%

of its European private banking workforce, following a similar route to that taken by

Schroders Salomon Smith Barney, Deutsche Bank and Citibank.

These had previously shed staff in an industry where growth estimates are bleaker

than expected two years ago.

Monks' parent, the consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), released a

survey last month illustrating lower revenue and profit growth expectations of top North American private banks and wealth managers.

The survey showed that the projected growth rate for private banking had dropped from 15%

to 10%.

However, according to Samantha Donald, a director at Shepherd Little Asset Management Recruitment in London, private banking and wealth management is still seen as a growth market.

Donald said: "We have experienced recruitment through the bear market although there has been a slowdown recently - the recruitment is becoming much more qualitative rather than quantitative.

" Our clients are only looking to hire senior individuals who are able to add value both in terms of introducing business as well as developing and evolving the business strategy and structure."