This year was one of upheaval for the Middle East as a whole, yet one of relative inaction in the financial services recruitment sector as most firms remained cautious because of regional concerns and escalating problems elsewhere in the world.

Comparatively speaking, the Middle East financial sector has remained resilient in the wake of turmoil in Europe and widespread redundancies in most Western markets, but will it remain so in 2012? And what sectors, job roles or skill sets will still be in demand next year?

We've spoken to some key financial services recruiters in the Middle East about their expectations for the coming 12 months.

2012 could be a good year for:

1) Wealth management/private banking

This is an obvious inclusion, considering the proliferation of wealth management roles in both international and regional institutions this year, but (as we mentioned previously) this recruitment looks set to continue into 2012.

"Competition is tough for private bankers and wealth management professionals in the Middle East, but it's an easy hire for most firms to justify," says Peter Greaves, executive vice president at headhunters DHR International. "If someone can bring a decent percentage of their client book across with them, they're covering their own costs."

2) Islamic finance

With the finance sector's industry generally tarnished in Western markets (as the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LSX movements in the US and UK demonstrate) many are viewing this as an opportunity for Islamic banks to emphasise their moral standpoint – the sector's dislike of excessive financial leverage and equitable distribution of wealth, for example.

From a retail banking point of view, this could mean more deposits flow into Islamic institutions.

There's also a buzz about the Middle East sukuk market, specifically a large riyal-denominated Islamic bond from Saudi Arabia, which could emerge as early as Q1 2012. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency is believed to be in discussions with a number of local and international banks over the issuance.

Yields have dropped and issuance levels have picked up in the GCC sukuk market, and it's expected to continue to do so next year.

"The creation of a number of new Islamic windows in international banks in the region, as well as an increase in the popularity of Shariah compliant products and services, is leading to an rise in profits within the Islamic banking sector," says James Collin, business manager at Reed Banking UAE.

3) Localisation initiatives

Banks in places like the UAE and Qatar, where the local population is small, have been increasingly successful in ensuring that more nationals enter the private sector. Most firms are hitting the 40% market in terms of local headcount, which is achieved by taking on swathes of graduates throughout the year. The challenge, however, is making sure the new recruits stick around.

"Localisation has always been high on the agenda of any financial institution in the Gulf licensed by the central bank, but next year there's going to be a greater focus on training and development to ensure better retention levels," says Barbara Van Meir, managing director, head of MENA at search firm Pemberton Partners. "Those nationals in mid and senior positions are also likely to be even more sought after next year."

4) Transaction banking

Corporate banking has been doing rather well in the Gulf of late. As a recent survey from the Boston Consulting Group concluded, provisions for underperforming loans have been declining since their peak in 2009, and as a result corporate banking profitability has increased this year, even while revenues remained flat.

Nonetheless, new lending is still subdued as banks continue to be cautious about over-extending themselves again. In contrast, it's the non-glamorous areas of corporate banking – transaction banking, trade finance, cash management, which are expected to grow even further next year and recruitment is increasing.

"The financing of exports forms an essential contribution to helping the region's economies diversify away from oil. In addition, banks see these business areas as offering a steady flow of business compared to other areas," says Richard Lett, regional director – Middle East, at Hudson.

5) Market risk roles

Risk has been a fertile area of recruitment in the GCC financial sector for some time now, as banks in the region look to increase their standard of governance. Next year, however, it seems that market risk roles in particular could be in demand.

"A lot of regional banks are looking at new products, which may be relatively common in developed markets, but are still new to this part of the world," says Van Meir. "They need new skill-sets to ensure the risk involved is understood and therefore we would anticipate market risk in particular being an active area of recruitment next year."

And 2012 could be a bad year for:

1) Broking and equity research

If you wanted some (more) evidence of how trading activity on the regional capital markets has remained in the doldrums this year, take a look at the latest figures from Nasdaq Dubai. The value of shares traded on the bourse declined by over 60% year-on-year in November, with just $36m worth of shares traded throughout the month.

Across the GCC the value of stocks traded has continued to tumble – turnover was $296bn last year, compared to a high of $1,600bn in 2006. There have been some high profile exits from the retail brokerage sector; notably HSBC and Rasmala, but generally the sector is shrinking. There are now just 60 operational brokerages in the UAE, down from 110 last year.

"The feeling is that with trading volumes so low, more brokerages will close in the region next year and there's less of a need for equity research, which suggests more firms will downsize in this area as well," says Van Meir.

Nomura has closed its regional equity research function, while Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and UBS have all reduced headcount in this division.

2) Investment banking

It's no secret that 2011 has been a terrible year for investment banking deal activity, with M&A, DCM and ECM activity all declining on 2010 (which in itself was a poor 12 months).

Whether it picks up next year is still open to debate. A recent survey by IntraLinks in conjunction with mergermarket, suggested that investment bankers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were the most pessimistic about M&A deal activity picking up next year, and few people are predicting much in the way of IPO activity in the first part of 2012.

Despite this, there are some positive signs; RBS, for instance, is expecting to close four deals worth $2bn next year and is upbeat about prospects for M&A in the region.

If deal activity does pick up next year, international investment banks – most of which are running a skeleton crew – may be required to staff up. There's little sign of this yet, however.

"Many of the international banks in the region are transferring (or shrinking) their investment banking teams," says Lett. "While there may be some demand for strong investment banking coverage bankers, those on the execution side may find 2012 a little tough to secure like for like roles with competitor banks."

3) Back office roles

Most banks in the region are still looking to strip out costs and the back office is shrinking. This isn't a huge function in the region, but it's still likely to be targeted for cuts as more institutions sign up to outsourcing arrangements.

"There's an increasing popularity among banks to outsource IT, clearing and other back-office functions in order to save on the bottom line," says Collin. "This could also spread to other back and middle office functions that are considered "non-core" and could result in some of these roles moving out of the region."