Are state-owned banks really the most exciting places for technologists?

RBS is slashing in its investment bank, while Lloyds Banking Group is slowly applying the axe as it implements the 15,000 redundancies announced in June. Is it therefore foolhardy to suggest that these are the places to be for a technologist?

Well, slightly, yes because IT employees are included in RBS's massive downsizing of its investment bank, and Lloyds has also cut back on contractors in the wake of the latest crisis. However, having a safety net of state support means that they're more likely than other banks in Europe to plough ahead with technology investment, according to a recent report by consultants Celent.

"Financially sound banks are delaying spending, while at least some state-owned banks are investing heavily in technology," it says. "Several interviewees had strong feelings known about a number of banks that had received state aid, and that are now effectively or literally state-owned. They noted that some of these banks seemed to have accelerated their IT investments, and were effectively using the state as a safe harbour."

From a recruitment point of view, we're told that Lloyds is still hiring for a large market risk IT programme as well as ongoing transformation work, and that RBS's ABN Amro integration – while nearly complete – is still offering a few opportunities.

"Generally, despite the recent redundancy announcements, candidates are still willing to be put forward for roles within state-owned banks," says Ben Cowan, director at recruiters Astbury Marsden. "However, it may be a case of any port in the storm and these banks are preparing to lose a lot of good people when the market picks up again."

The point to make about RBS is that it still faces the same mandatory regulatory tech pressures as any other banks, and will be forced to invest in ways of managing its data more effectively and centralised clearing of OTC derivative products, among other things. Then there's the fact that divesting the technology related to the divisions the investment bank is pulling back from will again necessitate some more work.

"Much of the ABN Amro work is largely complete, but the technological requirements of divesting business areas within RBS's investment bank are complex," says Bradley Wood, partner at consultancy GreySpark Partners. "Carving out the technology stack that previously supported the cash equities business, for example, is no simple exercise and the bank will need to invest money in this area – it's not just a case of turning it off or shutting it down."

Another area of relatively active recruitment is around the corporate banking divisions, suggests Andrew Keene, director of IT in finance recruiters Thomson Keene.

"More banks are looking for synergies between their corporate and investment banking operations and from a technology point of view, the corporate bank is light years behind," he says. "Therefore, there's potential for growth in this area."