Graduates keen to enter the financial sector will be relieved to know banks plan to hire hundreds more university leavers this year.
After 2009's tough job market, when Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) drastically cut its graduate intake to save costs in the recession, vacancies have increased again.
RBS said it will take on 596 graduates in 2010 - surpassing its 500-550 average before the recession and more than twice as many as last year, and other banks report similar plans.
Barclays intends to increase the number of university leavers it takes on by 20% in 2010, while Citi Group will offer 15% more places to graduates and interns across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, bringing its tally to 330.
Swiss group UBS cut its graduate recruitment by a third last year, but now plans to employ about 600 new graduates, returning its intake to pre-downturn levels.
New jobs at Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS tend to be focused towards certain business such as investment banking, as areas such as trading were stimulated by benign markets brought on by low interest rates and state support.
