The Big Four: consumers hate 'em, candidates love 'em
They're copping even more public, political and press flack than the struggling Australian cricket team, yet the Big Four banks remain an attractive employment option for job seekers.
A recent KPMG report says profits at ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac rose 26 per cent for the 2009/2010 financial year. Yet CBA has hiked up its variable mortgage interest rates by 45 basis points - almost twice the RBA increase.
But while these events have ignited a renewed round of bank bashing, the four pillars continue to dominate Australia's retail sector to the tune of about 80 per cent, and this is translating into continued demand for staff.
"There is a combination of corporate and branch retail roles for candidates with mortgage and transactional experience, while business banking and commercial lending roles are also up for grabs," says Kym Woolf, senior consultant, financial services division, Porterallen.
With the smaller lenders coming back into vogue, the Big Four, according to Woolf, are hiring to ensure they maintain their market domination. "They'll need to beef up sales teams and private banking early next year to beat each other in the market-share stakes," he says.
David Barr, director, financial services, Robert Walters thinks there isn't a direct correlation between profit growth and headcount increases.
"However, the message across all the Big Four banks is that they will need to increase headcount next year to keep up with their clients and customers needs," says David Barr, who expects demand for back-office and client-service functions to surge in 2011.
In retail banking, the job market is tight. "There is not a huge pool of people to choose from and the Australian banks will tend to hire at the entry-level rather than cherry pick more experienced recruits," adds Barr.
Away from retail, the recruitment market is more steady, comments Bob Olivier, a director of recruitment firm Advantage Professional.
"I don't see that the banks are doing any more recruiting than 12 months ago. They are adding to revenue lines but not spending more on staff. There are consistent levels of recruitment work to cover attrition, but not substantial new role creation. Wealth management, risk and compliance are doing well, however there are not a lot of front-office roles," he adds.
