Credit derivatives bonuses stay strong

Credit derivatives are a rare bright spot in a weak financial services job market, according to a report by the headhunter Alexander Mann Global Markets (AMGM).

Emily Gummer, a consultant at AMGM, said volatility in the credit market last year had led to a surge of activity in single name default swaps, with job vacancies increasing accordingly.

There was also demand for synthetic structuring of collateralised debt obligations. Bonuses in credit derivatives were significantly higher in 2002 than the year before.

But hiring was starting to tail off as many vacancies had been filled.

In credit research the picture was worse. Redundancies were commonplace and analysts had been told to expect bonuses 20%-40% down on 2001. But there was still some need for financial institutions credit research on both the buy and sell side, as well as for credit strategists.

AMGM said it had also noticed unusually high demand for senior compliance professionals. While much of this was replacement hiring, some positions were new. In particular there was demand for 'client money' experts. But hiring time scales had become longer.

In commodities, volatility in the oil and bullion markets had led to interest in experienced marketers in these areas. While there were few specific job vacancies, employers were keen to talk to individuals with business ideas.

Activity in commodities was likely to pick up at the end of the first quarter, when most bonuses had been paid.

Recruitment in fund management was limited and 2002 bonuses were about 50% down on last time. "Insurance companies or banks may well even question the economics of retaining fund management businesses and look to sell," the report said.

In equities there was a feeling of "gloom and doom", with morale low and bonuses down 50% on average and up to 80% in some banks. Even so, some banks were still interviewing.