After a pause, equity derivatives tech hiring is taking off again

Before the Kweku Adoboli 'incident' last year, equity derivatives, and Delta One desks in particular, were quietly doing well. And, as we pointed to in August, there was a steady stream of IT hiring emerging as more banks were seeking to bolster their equity derivatives business.

All that changed very quickly in September, of course, but recently (in line with a renewed push in the front office) a number of banks have started recruiting technologists again.

According to recruiters, the likes of Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS are currently hiring for equity derivatives IT roles. Financial News suggests that Citi and Nomura are also making hires in the front office, which could eventually result in more technology roles.

"We currently have around 40 IT roles related to equity derivatives, and it's one of the few areas where there's any hiring in front office technology," says Justin Willis, director of IT-focused recruiters Bright Purple. "There's a skills-shortage in this area and banks are looking to draft in people from other areas of the equities business."

The bulk of recruitment in the equity derivatives technology space is for business analysts, suggests Andrew Keene, director at IT recruiters Thomson Keene.

"A lot of the technology requirements within equity derivatives are for exchange traded products. This often means high volumes of trades, so it's largely about connectivity and speed – something a lot of cash equities technologists have experience with," he says. "Some of the more complex IT projects are around exotic products; where the skill-sets are not as transferable. Most banks are still facing challenges around OTC Clearing regulatory changes."

The salaries on offer are not yet reflective of the new recruitment drive and apparent skill-shortage. Development roles tend to offer £50-90k, depending on experience, while project managers can expect £80-100k, suggest recruiters.