Wall Street Firms Stepping Up Campus Hiring

Most of the largest U.S. financial institutions say they'll hire more new college graduates this year than last, and half look to hire at least 20 percent more graduates than last year, a new survey indicates.

The annual survey of HR managers, campus recruiters and corporate talent managers at 25 large banks and investment firms was conducted by 7city Learning, a provider of professional financial training and education with centers in London, New York and Singapore. Seventy-six percent said they expect more graduate hiring in 2010 than 2009, according to Financial News. Gil Christie, the firm's North American chief executive, told the news service:

In 2009, because of the financial crisis, we witnessed a hiring freeze, and financial services firms weren't increasing their investment in new graduates," says "This year, however, with the bulk of the crisis behind us, firms are looking to scoop up fresh talent from the nation's top universities and ramp up hiring across the board.

Twenty-two percent said salaries for newly hired graduates will increase from last year. The remainder said graduate salaries won't change.