Banking & financial services recruitment in 2016

For the first half of 2016, recruitment activity within the banking sector continued to increase at a steady pace. As financial institutions increase their appetite to lend, they become well positioned to hire across all areas. There was a particular increase in the volume of product specific roles as banks compete aggressively with FinTech start-ups.

There continues to be a large emphasis on risk related roles within the banking sector as financial institutions embrace new regulations and adhere to requirements from central banks.

While operational and regulatory risk continue to expand, a noticeable increase in financial risk roles was evident over the last 6 months. Specifically, the areas of credit, liquidity and market risk have gained more attention as banks prepare for IFRS 9 and continue to follow capital and liquidity control buffers.

Similarly, investment management firms have been actively hiring across all areas of risk to ensure liquidity and market oversight controls are properly implemented in order to protect investors from volatile global markets. From a candidate perspective, market confidence continued to improve, with career progression being cited as the main motivator to change employment for many professionals.

We witnessed a strong return to the corporate finance market in the first half of 2016. Professionals with a CFA or accountancy background remain the most sought-after candidates in this space as deal flow returned to the Irish economy for the first time in several years. Domestic corporate finance houses and global firms are well positioned to strategically increase headcount in a variety of areas such as M&A, advisory, private equity, etc.

The insurance industry, which for many years experienced downsizing and internal restructuring, returned to buoyant levels of hiring again in the areas of risk, claims and actuarial. Actuarial pricing candidates remained in high demand while many organisations continued to hire claims professionals at a senior level. We noticed an increase in risk related positions and candidates from an actuarial background became sought after to fill these roles. 

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To discuss any of your recruitment needs, please contact one of our experienced consultants on dublin@robertwalters.com or 01 633 4111.