Public sector pay: a financial services focus
Bankers across the UK will be enjoying the brief hiatus of pressure around their pay packets, as the man-on-the-street's attention instead turns to lavish salaries in the public sector.
By now, you'll no doubt be aware of the furore around high-earning civil servants exposed by last night's Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
One commentator described it as "like robbery without the violence". Sound like a familiar sentiment?
Among the vast swathes of data now available on the BBC website, it's possible to find some of the highest earning public sector workers with a financial services focus.
Firstly, there's the top brass at the Asset Protection Agency (which was recruiting last year ).
Mentioned on the list are Ion Dagtoglou, chief investment officer (167.5k); Jens Bech, chief risk officer (167.5k); Stephan Wilcke (152.5k); and Brian Scammell, chief credit officer (132.5k). Such sums are more likely to illicit snorts of derision rather than outrage among some sectors of the financial community.
The Bank of England also comes under scrutiny, but Governor Mervyn King (305.7k); and deputy governors Paul Tucker (258.1k) and Charlie Bean (254.2k) are the only named people. There are, however, 68 employees earning between 115k-195.5k.
Let's not forget that it was only 18 months ago, when redundancies were rife within the City, that working in the public sector - particularly the Financial Services Authority - was being touted as an attractive option for investment bankers.
Because of its independent status, the FSA escaped the probing eye of Panorama. Still, both outgoing chief executive Hector Sants' (742k) and chairman Adair Turner's (482k) pay packets would be considered pretty high for what many consider a public sector role.
Let's also not forget that the FSA is still struggling to fill those 480 roles announced earlier this year. Financial News shows that there are still 320 vacancies, mostly because for every two people it hires, one leaves. 187 people have departed this year, most probably because of fears over the regulator's future.
Most of these new roles are around risk and regulation, and there's a breakdown of pay within these jobs on the FSA's website. At the lower end, a risk associate can earn a decidedly modest 28-57k, while the most highly paid positions offer salaries of 87-170k.
As a base salary, this doesn't compare too unfavourably with risk roles investment banks, according to figures from recruiters PSD Group.
