Corporate bankers are hot stuff

Corporate bankers who can develop and manage relationships are hotter than Ronan Keating in Speedos as demand in Ireland rises.

When recruitment firm Robert Walters released its annual survey earlier this year, it noted that Irish demand for corporate relationship managers, credit analysts and loan administrators was warming up - particularly if they had specialist sector experience. Since then, the hiring temperature has risen considerably.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has just announced it will create more than 300 new jobs this year, mostly in Dublin. Half of these will be in business banking, it says. Its retail bank, Halifax, expects to create 120 jobs and will have 41 Irish branches this year located in Belfast, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford and Wexford.

Both AIB and Bank of Ireland are inviting speculative applications, while AIB is advertising several corporate banking vacancies on its website. New business development and managing relationships with existing clients is a key competency in these roles.

According to Robert Walters, candidates with one to two years' experience can expect a basic salary of €55k to €60k, rising to €61k to €75k with three to five years' experience, and to €75k to €110k for candidates with five years' experience or more.

"Relationship management has long been the core discipline practised by our corporate bankers. It's a key aspect in how we operate our business. We offer a competitive remuneration package to attract highly skilled and experienced professionals, and have corporate banking teams in Dublin, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Stamford, Connecticut and Los Angeles," says a Bank of Ireland spokeswoman.