There are STILL opportunities at Anglo

Kick-starting what has already been dubbed 'Black Thursday' before the results of the stress tests have been published is Anglo Irish Bank, which confirmed a €17.7bn loss for 2010.

In amongst its 180-page annual report are, obviously, slightly disconcerting statements related to job prospects.

Headcount is down by 16% year-on-year after the redundancies in early 2010, Anglo's wealth management unit is going to be imminently disposed of, 200 people are now at AIB after the transferral of Anglo's deposit book and chairman Alan Dukes has said that staffing "will have to be significantly reduced".

All very depressing, but not at all surprising considering the bank is slowly being wound down. Yet, there are still job opportunities.

Firstly, there's its Group Recovery Management Unit, established last year and which aims to retrieve as much as possible from its toxic loan book.

It will be integral as Anglo attempts to improve its asset quality before being consigned to the history books and - after an initial burst of recruitment last year - headhunters suggest that jobs are still being created.

The bank has said that it "may appoint experienced professionals" to operate this business "in the best long-term interests of all stakeholders".

Connected to this division is the Corporate Projects Unit, which essentially has the same aim as the recovery management, but deals with more complex clients to try and clawback as much debt as possible.

Recruiting for these roles will be no easy task - particularly as most other banks are fighting for the same talent - and it may be that Anglo is forced to pay over the odds. Recruiters already suggest that salaries at the bank are 20% above market rate as an incentive to keep people there.

Because of their finite nature, these jobs are likely to be offered on a long-term contract basis, but any banking opportunities in the current climate should be welcomed.