Have banks over-hired in technology?
After a vigorous amount of recruitment in 2010, are investment banks suddenly finding that they're over-stocked with technologists?
Credit Suisse certainly seems to be - for the second quarter running it's trimmed the number of IT staff allocated to its investment bank. However, sources suggest this is down to an internal reshuffle in the credit tech teams and subsequent duplication of functions rather than over-exuberant hiring last year.
However, the bank is by no means alone.
"Some CIOs are telling us that they've been told to take be more lean operationally, and we're expecting a 10% headcount reduction in tech functions within some banks this year," says one IT in finance headhunter. "This is partly down to over-hiring in 2010, but also a poor first quarter has presented an opportunity to trim some fat."
2010 may have been something of a watershed year. Research by Celent suggested that banks in Europe allocated the largest proportion of their tech budgets to spending on staffing last year. This looks set to shrink going forward to 2013.
One IT recruiter in a bulge bracket US investment bank tells us that this year is about "consolidation, not expansion". However, recruiters insist that pockets of activity do remain - commodities and foreign exchange technology and change management, for instance.
"After the mini-boom in 2010, permanent hiring has largely ground to a halt," claims one financial technology recruiter. "We're expecting the majority of hiring to be on a contract basis, or through bringing in external consultants, as this comes from a different budget and is more flexible."
