Investment banks are still handing out pay rises to developers

Investment banks may not be going overboard when it comes to recruiting technologists at the moment, but most firms understand that pay is one advantage the financial sector has when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. The result is that technical salaries are continuing to rise.

It’s still a good time to work as a developer in an investment bank, with salaries increasing by an average of 12% over the last 12 months, according to new figures from recruiters Harrington Star. Programme and project management roles still pay the most, but the report suggests that banks are willing to increase salaries in the more technical roles.

The figures below, which don’t include bonuses, suggest that the vast majority of development roles – particularly those associated with the long-term hot skill-set of Java – continue to rise. There are, however, a couple of caveats.

Andrew Keane, director of IT in finance recruiters Thomson Keene, said that most salaries have been increased to compensate for a lack of bonus and that overall compensation is down for technologists this year due to banks’ reluctance to fork out for variable pay in non-revenue generating areas.

“Most people moving are looking at career opportunities rather than money, with the project size and potential for advancement as important as any rise in pay,” he said. “Banks are only willing to increase pay if an individual falls outside their prescribe salary bands, so most people are seeking a promotion – and therefore salary increase – when they move positions.”

The figures below come from Harrington Star’s salary survey, which can be downloaded in full here. Red indicates a salary increase, black no change and blue an average decline in pay. Figures are in £000.