The rise of new retail banking roles in Scotland

Suffice to say, with the two largest financial institutions in Scotland shrinking over the last two years, its' not been a happy time for those in the retail banking sector. But employment opportunities are on the up in 2011.

One of the more surprising aspects to emerge from this year's Scottish Financial Services Recruitment Review by Joslin Rowe and Scottish Enterprise was that large retail banks, with more than 1,000 employees, were the most optimistic about their plans for 2011.

Certainly there are some positive signs to emerge already this year, not least HSBC's plans to recruit 100 staff at branch level this year, Tesco Bank's ongoing Scottish expansion and Virgin Money's recruitment drive that will eventually add 300 people to its Edinburgh HQ.

Both RBS and Lloyds are due to report their annual results this week, and banking analysts have so-far been relatively effusive about the institutions' prospects. But are roles being created across the board in Scotland?

"In terms of back office services and contact centres, our clients continue to recruit hundreds of staff in both Edinburgh and Glasgow," says Scott Maxwell, principal consultant, accounting and financial services at Hudson in Edinburgh. "And the more FSA led roles - credit, regulatory and operational risk, including systems and business transformation - continue to be in demand and there's an ongoing lack of talent in these areas."

Indeed, it's these strategic roles within the Scottish HQs that are providing the bulk of job opportunities. The larger banks - such as Lloyds and RBS - continue to hire business analysts, change managers and credit risk analysts, while the new players are recruiting for operational and product development roles.

Tesco Bank, for instance, is hiring for everything from financial crime analysts for its mortgage products to operational roles around its ATM networks.

"The focus now for the new banks in Scotland is less about setting up shop and more about getting products to market, and they need people for these new product launches," says Mike Leeman, manager - finance recruitment at Bright Purple Resourcing. "There's a general sense of optimism in the retail banking space, that wasn't there even six months ago."

Sadly, for the legions of newly-unemployed branch workers, there's little sign of a definite turnaround at this level.