Global investment banks are hiring on average 13.5 percent more graduates this year than last.
The banks hiring the greatest number of recruits are Nomura, with a UK graduate intake of 52 percent more compared to last year, and Bank of America, which is hiring 33 percent more graduates than in 2006. Goldman Sachs is hiring 324 new analysts compared to 268 last year, a 21 percent increase.
ING is the only bank in the sample of 14 hiring fewer graduates than last year, with UK numbers falling by 46.1 percent. Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Dresdner Kleinwort are hiring the same number of graduates as in 2006.
Banks including Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley plan to grow but do not have a precise target as to how many more graduates they will take on, preferring to recruit according to the quality of the applications. Graduate intake takes place mainly in September after university leavers have finished their summer break but some banks continue to recruit throughout the year.
Lucy Gregory, co-head of European graduate recruitment at Morgan Stanley, said: "We plan to take on more graduates this year than last, although we are finalizing the numbers. We run summer programs in London for interns and longer graduate programs, which last two or three years, both of which are paid competitively. Graduate hiring is a great source of talent and we hire from across Europe to get the best cross-section of candidates."
Banks often ask candidates to complete an internship before offering them a job. Of those interns, only between 50 percent and 60 percent are offered permanent positions. Summer internships are renowned for their hard work and long hours and a way for banks to "sort the men from the boys".