City boom: Banks launch record recruitment drive… yes, despite Brexit

The City’s banking jobs market is booming in a sign that London is scuppering bets laid on Brexit hitting its attractiveness, reveals a fresh study released today. 

UK banks have never been looking to hire this many staff, with vacancies in the sector skyrocketing 129 per cent over the last year, according to research carried out by City recruiter Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft.

The City’s banking sector jobs boom has been driven by Wall Street banking giants, indicating London’s deep and highly skilled talent pool is continuing to attract the world’s top lenders after Brexit.

In the capital alone, lenders are recruiting for 96 per cent more roles than they were last year.

American investment bank JPMorgan has launched the largest recruitment campaign in the UK of all lenders, seeking to hire 5,330 new bankers last year.

Fellow Wall Street titan Citi was the second most active, creating over 4,000 roles in 2021.

The jobs boom demonstrates fears over bankers taking flight from London and moving to the Continent after Brexit were largely misplaced.

“Brexit did not usher in the dramatic movement of finance professionals away from the UK as many previously thought,” Morgan McKinley said.

Elevated hiring activity among the country’s biggest lenders underlines the crucial role the banking sector plays in generating top jobs in the UK, industry chiefs said.

UK Finance, Britain’s banking lobby group, told City A.M.: “The UK’s banking and finance sector is one of the country’s most important.” 

“The sector provides high-quality jobs, pays significant amounts of tax and drives investment across other parts of the economy. Firms are continuing to invest and expand their operations, both here in London as well as in other cities up and down the country.”