Derivatives are golden ticket to IT pay

Senior IT staff working in front-office roles or derivatives hold the hot tickets to big bonuses in investment banking this year.

"Front office people get more opportunities for bonuses because they are more visible to the business," says Darren Ball, senior client manager at IT recruitment firm JM.

IT staffers in fixed income and credit derivatives are also likely to rake in bigger bucks, simply because those pockets of the market are huge money generators.

The size of the bonuses depends mainly seniority, with managing directors potentially earning multiples of their salary, regional heads receiving an additional 60-70 per cent and London heads and VPs 40 per cent to 50 per cent.

"Whether you're .Net or Java, if you work in the front-office or derivatives you're given a better bonus opportunity," says Ball.

Mike Sherwin, senior manager at recruitment firm Huxley Associates, confirms that those who will reap the rewards will be: "IT department heads and senior developers with an understanding of the products."

Structured derivates and automated trading groups are the big bonus winners, but bonuses are likely to be high across the board because of high market churn, he says.

"Exceptional people can expect to earn up to 70 per cent of base salary and in a few cases multiples of their base. It's high because profits have been strong for many firms and there's more demand for staff this year, so people need to pay to keep experienced staff."