Loan workout specialists will be hot in Irish banks for years to come

With Irish banks wrestling with a large book of underwater loans, demand for workout specialists has been ongoing over the last 18 months - whether that be for Nama, asset recovery vehicles or just making best of existing arrangements.

The bad news is that the frenzied level of recruitment seen back in 2008 is showing some signs of waning. However, despite most of these roles being on a contract basis, there looks like being a healthy supply of work for some years to come.

At the most extreme end, Anglo Irish's bad loans could take up to 15 years to deal with. But even banks in better shape are anticipating this work to continue for at least three years, suggest recruiters.

"The significant ramp up in recruitment in restructuring and credit areas as banks looked to get their teams ready for NAMA has subsided," says Andrea Clarkson, manager - financial services at Morgan McKinley in Ireland. "But we're still seeing the majority of vacancies in commercial banking concentrated in the area of loan workouts, and contracts of up to 24 months are being offered."

These roles are reasonably lucrative. At the junior end, on a pro rata basis, €45k is the norm. This rises to €110k at the senior end, suggest recruiters.

"Much of the recruitment we're seeing is for junior roles, and banks are finding these difficult to source," says Eimear Walsh, senior consultant banking at Brightwater. "There's a therefore a degree of flexibility as banks realise there's not a huge supply of workout specialists locally."

This may also be down to the fact that people within these contract roles are bedding down in their current position, due to the perception of relative job security they offer.

"Even after 18 months, most contracts are being extended," says Elaine Liston, financial services consultant at recruiters Hudson in Ireland. "Once people have accepted these roles, they're not looking elsewhere, which suggests they feel relatively secure."