Hiring plans by bank in 2017

Which banks will be hiring in which areas this year? Financial services recruiters suggest a patchy, reactive market, with banks hiring asymmetrically as they each pursue individual goals and fill gaps.

Most banks have provided a high-level overview of their recruitment priorities in 2017, either at the time of their fourth quarter results or during subsequent investor days. We summarize these below.

Bank of America:

Current number of job openings in London: 96

Most interesting contemporary opportunity:  Associate in the scientific implementation group. – BofA wants someone to, ‘applying a systematic, quantitative, and scientifically informed thought process around execution, portfolio management, and risk management, with emphasis on the development of client solutions.’

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: This time last year, Bank of America was making cuts to its equities business. During 2016 as a whole, it cut global markets headcount by 7%. This year, BofA says it will, “continue to invest”, but doesn’t specify where.

Barclays:

Current number of job openings in London: 66 (At the corporate and investment bank, although most seem to be in the corporate bank.)

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Senior modelling analyst in the consumer credit modeling team.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: As per the strategy outlined by CEO Jes Staley, Barclays is now focusing on the UK and the US. Expect equities hiring at the British bank in 2017 – especially in London, where Staley says there is “room to grow.” 

Citigroup:

Current number of job openings in London: 84

Most interesting contemporary opportunity:  Equity electronic sales trader. Citi wants someone to help grow its electronic trading franchise in Europe by helping its clients choose the right trading strategies.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: Citi says its “restructuring is over.” CEO Mike Corbat suggests we should expect further investments in equities and technology, so expect hiring here.

Credit Suisse:

Current number of job openings in London: 36

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Head of Delta One Electronic Trading EMEA. Credit Suisse is looking for someone to head its EMEA electronic trading business.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017:  Confusingly, Credit Suisse is cost cutting, but it’s also growing.  At last year’s investor day it said it wants its markets business to achieve $6bn of revenues with $4.8bn of costs and $60bn of risk weighted assets. In 2016 these figures were $5.6bn, $5.3bn and $5.1bn respectively. In other words, therefore, Credit Suisse wants its markets business to generate higher revenues with lower costs but higher risk weighted assets. It’s expected to achieve this by ramping up its systematic trading unit, although it hasn’t said so explicitly. Senior M&A and capital markets hires are also likely in the U.S. and there are rumours that Credit Suisse is interested in rebuilding part of its macro trading capability in London.

Deutsche Bank:

Current number of job openings in London: 67

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Change analyst, chief data office. Deutsche has got a ‘chief data office’ to inculcate the use of data across the bank. It’s up to the change analyst in this chief data office to alter people’s behaviours so that they get with the ‘data strategy.’

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: Deutsche Bank has promised to replace any fixed income staff who leave as a result of its non-existent bonuses. It also wants to Deutsche “deepen” relationships in M&A and ECM (suggesting it might hire some ‘rainmakers’), to recapture market share in equities and equity derivatives sales and trading, and to build contacts with the pensions and insurance industry in its rates business.

Goldman Sachs:

Current number of job openings in London: ~126

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Desk analyst in the fixed income securities fundamental strats team. Goldman wants a quant to generate trade ideas in its fixed income business.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: Goldman Sachs set out to cut $700m from costs last year and ended up cutting $900m. The bank has now finished cost cutting and is in a “position of strength” according to CFO Harvey Schwartz. Incoming CFO Marty Chavez says he will be all about “applying math and software to the problem of risk management.” Chavez has promised to increase the automation of investment banking tasks when he takes over in April.  Expect quant and technology hiring above all else.

J.P. Morgan:

Current number of job openings in London:  219 (At the corporate and investment bank.)

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Python/Java/C++ Algo Developer for equities in the central risk book. J.P. Morgan wants a programmer to develop algorithms that will trade the central risk book, possibly the most interesting trading desk in the whole bank. Headhunters say the central risk book is as close as you get to old-fashioned proprietary trading. Traders on the central risk desk monitor the positions of trading teams across a bank and try to ensure trades are placed and hedged efficiently. J.P. Morgan says tech knowledge is more important than finance knowledge for this role.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: J.P. Morgan has finished cost cutting. At the bank’s recent investor day, CEO of the corporate and investment bank Daniel Pinto said the bank had been hiring data specialists, electronic trading specialists, and “senior bankers across products and geographies.”  As J.P. Morgan prepares to make its Athena risk and pricing system accessible to clients, expect technology hires with data manipulation expertise. Pinto said the, “client’s user experience is key,” this year.

Morgan Stanley:

Current number of job openings in London: 190

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Associate in the equity solutions group. Morgan Stanley is looking for a junior to help pitch its equity derivatives solutions to clients looking to raise money.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: Morgan Stanley already made a few layoffs in its sales and trading business in 2017. This year, it plans to hire in equities trading, particularly in Asia, and to ‘deepen its bench’ in fixed income.

UBS:

Current number of job openings in London: 143

Most interesting contemporary opportunity: Group deferred compensation specialist. UBS wants someone to set the pay structure for its group.

Stated hiring priorities in 2017: In an interview with Business Insider, Andrea Orcel, CEO of UBS’s investment bank, said the bank is slowly adding senior investment bankers, “one at a time.” The Swiss bank is also growing its US equities business.

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com