Over the next six months, I believe there will be continued demand for candidates with experience managing risk at a balance-sheet level. Many investors are steering clear of participating in the listed-equities markets, and interest has shifted significantly towards fixed-income, and deposits and savings products.

The Australian banks and some of the international ones have been focusing on these areas to drive revenue and provide a buffer against the increasing costs of sourcing funding offshore. Savings and term deposits are clearly a competitive area to be in right now.

Consequences for candidates

This means candidates who manage the risks associated with these products and also those who manage risk across the treasury/balance-sheet function will be sought after. I have already seen demand for experienced market-risk candidates covering treasury and liquidity risk management, and I think this trend will continue for the remainder of 2012.

A further driver for hiring risk professionals with capital management experience will be the introduction of the new Basel III capital requirements for ADIs in January 2013. There will be demand for project managers in addressing the new requirements and implementing the necessary changes. Furthermore, this will push any recruitment for core financial-risk managers to a higher priority level.

With regard to recruitment strategies for these jobs, fortunately market-risk management is an internationally transferable skill. Although for logistical reasons, firms sometimes focus on Australian-based candidates, offshore people are regularly considered during the initial search, or after the Australian market has been exhausted.

Given the significantly higher numbers of candidates available at the moment, and the cost-management focus of all financial institutions, salary levels are not increasing significantly in 2012. Unless there is a shortage of talent for a critical role, I do not believe that the salaries being offered for the remainder of 2012 will attract the same sort of premiums as in previous years.

Jacob Smith, director, JS Careers