Investment banks continue to recruit graduates

by Gill Montia

Story link: Investment banks continue to recruit graduates

The Securities & Investment Institute (SII), a professional body representing those who work in the securities and investment industry, has reported that investment banks are continuing to recruit graduates.

The organisation analysed the entries of employees from twenty top investment banks who were sitting SII examinations, and found that graduate recruitment was at 94% of its 2007 level.

Given that graduate recruitment rose significantly last year, when compared to 2006, SII is suggesting that the industry has learnt from the downturn of 2003/04 and is keen to maintain graduate recruitment levels.

Taking a closer look at the statistics, graduate recruitment by US banks was down 4% on 2007, while for non-US banks the decline was higher, at 8%. However, City of London-based banks saw a modest rise in graduate recruitment.

Simon Culhane, chief executive of SII, believes that the figures are evidence that banks are looking to the longer term and remain committed to recruiting highly skilled staff.

The examinations which provided the data were mainly focused on advisory roles within the wholesale financial services industry.