Could Goldman's FICC technology investment kick-start a new round of hiring?

It's rare in this era of austerity and mandatory regulatory tech spend that any bank starts talking up an investment in a front office projects. It's rarer still that this investment takes place in fixed income, a division where electronic trading is in its relative nascency.

Step forward Goldman Sachs, which is now considering implementing electronic trading platforms across its fixed income currencies and commodities division, according to the FT.

This would be a departure for the firm, which relies on more traditional desk-based trading methods for this division and the move believed to be driven by the potential regulatory impact on the bank.

From a jobs point of view, it's not all good news – a report earlier this month suggested that the latest round of job cuts at Goldman were aimed at traders who can be replaced with new technology.

For technology workers, however, it could provide some much-needed new opportunities. There's already some evidence of this recruitment drive in London, with new development roles at Goldman in commodities and FX currently being advertised.

Recruiters suggest that FICC is the one area where Goldman will expand its front office IT team, but that any hiring spree is more likely to be tens of people, rather than hundreds.

More interestingly, many are hoping that Goldman's move inspires other firms to invest in new FICC electronic trading projects, which could starta new round of musical chairs among financial technologists.

"In the current climate, this is enough to cause some excitement," says one financial IT headhunter.