Lloyds staff looking to new BarCap roles

It's no secret that Lloyds Banking Group has been losing staff in Scotland, either through self-imposed cuts or competitors opportunistically poaching. Now, however, it's losing increasing numbers of employees to Barclays Capital's new Glasgow hiring spree.

As well as showing thousands of staff the door, Lloyds has also been finding it hard to keep hold of the staff it wants to keep.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, for instance, has lost both key equities and fixed income staff to local competitors. Meanwhile, a team of eight portfolio managers in Bank of Scotland private banking defected to Rensburg Sheppards shortly before its acquisition by Rathbone Partners last year.

One Lloyds banking employee has told us that now increasing numbers of their colleagues are looking at opportunities at Barclays Capital, which is currently recruiting for hundreds of investment operations roles in Glasgow.

Recruiters working for BarCap confirm that Lloyds has been a fertile target for the current vacancies and that those working in retail banking, commercial banking and data management are being considered for roles.

"Lloyds staff are well-trained and experienced, which makes them an attractive target. And, of course, many are looking for pastures new," says one recruitment source.

Of course, Lloyds isn't alone in losing staff to BarCap, with BNP Paribas, Citi, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and State Street all believed to be targets for talent.

BarCap has a tight deadline for filling these roles, with the recruitment spree expected to be complete by October.