Deutsche Bank cuts graduate recruitment, focuses on cheaper locations

In theory, investment banks are increasing their graduate intakes, focusing on the junior level as they cut costs by forcing more expensive managing directors out of the door. JPMorgan opened its analyst programme up to a second round of applications this year in order to reduce junior workload and Deutsche Bank also hired more.

However, Deutsche’s new report into its human resources activity for 2013 shows a sharp drop in the number of graduate hires last year. Just over 500 people were hired globally in 2013, as the chart below shows, compared to 653 last year and over 770 in 2009.

 

This wasn’t the limit of Deutsche Bank’s graduate recruitment, however. The banks says the figures in the chart above don't include graduate hiring into its 'offshore and nearshore centres', defined as Jacksonville in the U.S., Birmingham in the UK and Manila in the Philippines. Nor do the figures in the chart include technologists hired into offshore centres like Moscow in Russia, Bucharest in Romania, or Cary in the U.S.. Total graduate hiring in these offshore and nearshore centres was more than double that in the chart above. 350 students were hired in Jacksonville, Birmingham and Manila in 2013.  And 210 graduates were recruited into technology roles in Moscow, Bucharest and Cary in 2013. When these additional students are added, Deutsche actually hired 1,196 graduates last year.

Deutsche’s build out of its Birmingham office has accelerated in the past 12 months. Not only is it a centre for investment banking operations and technology, but it’s become a location for so-called ‘low touch’ sales and trading activities where employees focus on smaller companies.

The result of this investment has been a 150% increase in revenues from these clients that were previously handled in London and the bank has plans to finish 2014 with 170 staff in the city, according to a Financial News interview with Erik Simonsen, head of Deutsche’s corporate banking and securities division in Birmingham.

Getting a front office job requires impeccable academics, multiple internships and extra-curricular activities that can separate you from the competition. If you want to work in the back office, however, Deutsche’s figures suggest that it’s increasingly necessary to be open to a move outside of a developed financial centre.

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