Banks are now having problems with students dropping out before they've even started

Now that their appetite for graduates has picked up again and top students have a choice of institutions to join, banks are facing a whole new problem: students who've accepted offers are renegueing on them at the last minute.

"We're seeing it, and so are our peers," says the head of recruitment at one international bank. "It started last year, with students hedging themselves against all the fear and anxiety in the market. They accepted a lot of offers, and held onto them all until the very last minute, when they'd suddenly choose which one to go for.

"It meant that students who were supposed to show up for work just didn't turn up. It was a problem for full time students starting in July, and for interns," he adds. "We're expecting it again this time."

Students who let banks down at the last moment in this way do so under the threat of permanent blacklisting by the organisations who come off badly.

"They're trying to hold all the cards," complains the head of recruitment.

In some cases, banks will themselves try to poach students who've already committed to joining other institutions. "One bank in particular has been quite well known for pinching people in the past," says another head of graduate recruitment. "But it's a bit of an unwritten rule that we don't do that kind of stuff."