There really is a lot of hiring in select areas of prime broking

Prime broking businesses are benefiting from some biggish hires and hiring. HSBC has poached Anthony Bennett, a relationship manager at Goldman Sachs, as head of integration to help it get new clients on board. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has poached Sean Capstick from Deutsche as head of capital intro, JPMorgan has hired a head of EMEA pb sales from Barcap and BarCap has hired someone in replacement. Plus, it emerged in March that Citigroup had added 13 traders and risk professionals to its prime finance business.

Moreover, in a sign that there is money to be made in raising money for hedge funds, Tullett is launching a primary placement service for hedge funds, which employs seven people so far.

Capital introduction - back from the dead

"There's definitely been a marked increase in hiring for capital introduction roles as a product differentiator," says James Bright at headhunter CT Partners.

"Capital introduction died a death in 2008, when a lot of people were let go," he adds. "But now the money's flowing back into funds, there's significant demand for people with investor contacts again."

The occasional 50% uptick

Andrew Morland, a prime broking specialist at search firm Pelham International, says sales people, FX prime brokerage professionals, and prime broking product developers have also been hot this year.

"We've seen some people move on a 50% uptick, although 20-30% is more reasonable," he says.

The highest earning pb salespeople are on around $1.3-$1.4m. In capital introduction, Bright says pay is only now recovering to the level of 2007. "There are still quite a few people out of the market," he reflects.