Techies feeling the pinch from FICC revenue slowdown

With FICC revenues looking a little shaky, there are signs that investment banks are pulling bank from IT investment in this area. Sadly, this means the previously fervent levels of recruitment are becoming a lot more subdued.

The FICC party of the last 12 months is showing some signs of coming to an end. According to some analysts' estimates, revenues are likely to be down 25-30% in the second quarter (admittedly from previously buoyant levels) and the European sovereign debt crisis has had an impact across the board.

There are indications that this is affecting appetite for innovation investment. While a cutting edge FX e-Commerce platform, or top commodities techies have been the must-have for some time now, banks are now largely adopting a wait-and-see approach when it comes to bolstering their IT teams.

"While a number of top tier investment banks continue to recruit senior FICC technologists, smaller organisations are reluctant to invest more money in IT until they can see a substantial return on investment," says Paul Bennie, director of IT in finance headhunters Bennie MacLean. "This has already hit hiring."

"Banks are taking stock of all the hiring they've done so far this year, which has been substantial in the FICC space," says Dan Gallagher, manager of financial technology recruiters Cititec. "Recruitment plans have become a lot more cautious and strategic."

Some banks - including Morgan Stanley, BarCap and Deutsche Bank - are believed to be still in the market for recruiting FICC techies. The upside of this more subdued hiring activity is that more people are open to the idea of a move.

"We've been surprised by how many senior FICC technologists have been willing to investigate external career opportunities," says Bennie. "It's been incredibly difficult to recruit for this space for some time now, but most people are viewing the current lull in investment as prudent time to look around."