The hire ground

Banks are slashing staff, but credit derivatives desks continue to bulk up. Established players are adding in key areas, while mid-tier firms are building entire desks. But has the hiring frenzy peaked?

For banks, credit derivatives have proven to be the only bright spot in the current market gloom. As a result, firms are hiring credit derivatives traders, quants and marketing staff at a time when jobs are being shed in most other investment banking departments. “Most people are looking for a presence in credit derivatives,” says Cameron Thomson, a director at recruitment firm Elliott Ross Associates, based in London, which has placed a number of credit derivatives staff in banks recently