Graduate bankers demand £60,000 in wages Business

Graduate bankers are demanding starting salaries of more than £60,000 as young workers continue to pressure managers to offer more benefits amid a war for talent.

Junior banking analysts in the City of London can now expect to earn a base salary of £63,000 before bonuses in their first year out of university, a jump of more than a quarter from last year, according to a report by professional services recruiter Dartmouth. .

It comes as the financial and professional services industries increasingly raise salaries and offer lavish benefits in a bid to attract talent to offset an infamously poor work-life balance.

JP Morgan pays the highest base salary to graduates at £70,000, according to the report.

It also showed junior associates at City investment banks, who have four years’ experience, can expect a base salary of £119,000, up 14% on the previous year , and an average premium of £107,000 on top.

Goldman Sachs paid the highest bonuses last year, handing out an average of £180,000 to partners and £350,000 to its vice-chairmen, who are one rung above them on the career ladder.

Logan Naidu, chief executive of Dartmouth, said investment banks are forced to offer such elaborate salary rewards as they now compete with private equity firms for top graduating talent, which doesn’t was not the case in previous years.

He said: “Base pay has doubled in the last ten years. There are more opportunities and people consider these places as training grounds. In that sense, it’s more American.

Banks are scrambling to make a career in investment banking more attractive amid fears that talented graduates are choosing to work for tech companies, which offer better work-life balance.

Last month, Citigroup revealed it was opening a new office in Malaga as part of staff retention efforts.

The Wall Street giant hopes the Andalusian town will offer employees a better work-life balance and help curb attrition among junior bankers, as it bets banks will have to do more than just raise salaries to keep junior staff.

Meanwhile, the city’s law firms are desperately trying to outbid each other when it comes to paying new lawyers.

Akin Gump, an American firm, this week increased the base salaries of its newly qualified lawyers in London – those who have completed two years of training – to a record £164,000.