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Quantitative Risk Insights – June 2024

  • Hiring levels have improved slightly in the past month, and are as high as they have been for the last 18 months or so.
  • Higher levels of activity within the IRB modelling space. Driven by the IRB repair programme and IRB aspirant banks increasing headcount.
  • There has been less activity in model risk, at least in the UK, which is surprising given the recent go-live of SS 1/23. Some resourcing is taking place offshore, but several banks plan to expand UK teams.
  • Departments are under-resourced, yet many firms have a hiring freeze. At best, they must go through several layers of approval to recruit.
  • It is still challenging to source candidates in most areas of quantitative risk. Most recruiting managers are unwilling to compromise on skills and experience. This adds to the training and development requirements of an already stretched team. Balancing this with time-to-hire is a challenge.
  • Most hiring in this area tends to be driven by regulatory changes such as IRB Repair, FRTB and SS 1/23.
  • Teams need people resources yet cannot recruit due to budget restrictions. Consultancy budgets have also been cut. As a result, existing teams are stretched, and many staff are unhappy. However, there aren’t many options for them to make a change.
  • At some stage, likely in late Q3 2024, the market will return. We expect there will be a surge in activity as firms try and make up for lost time.
  • Several large banks have recruitment freezes, with only certain roles receiving exceptions. Most of these do not get approval for agency spend, massively increasing time-to-hire.
  • There have been redundancies in the past month due to cost-cutting and restructuring. Several senior people made redundant earlier in the year have joined new firms.
  • Several banks are offshoring talent. They can only replace or expand teams in low-cost offshore locations.
  • Conversely, a few mid-sized firms are in the process of building out teams. This is mainly in response to external regulatory demands. Internal programmes of work, which need significant people resource are also key drivers, such as IRB.

Scott Nye

Executive Consultants, Quantitative Risk
sn@barclaysimpson.com
020 7936 8959

Please reach out if you would like advice on hiring in Quantitative Risk.
Barclay Simpson has 20 years of experience recruiting in this sector, and we can offer deep insight into how the market is changing and how to secure the best candidates.