Bigger Bucks For Bank Jobs

Good with numbers? Like sales? Get your resume ready.

As their industry booms, banks and other financial institutions are scouring for people to manage money, sell insurance, approve loans and advise the wealthy.

Demand is especially strong in the Triangle, which has become a magnet for large financial institutions and banks attracted by the area's wealth and growing population.

Investment bank Credit Suisse is hiring hundreds of information technology professionals to power an estimated $140 million data processing complex being built in Research Triangle Park. Fidelity Investments has added about 200 positions this year, bringing its total in the area to about 1,000, and more could be on the way. And the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has been recruiting accountants and computer operators for several months as it moves to Durham from the Northeast.

In addition, a dozen new banks have opened or expanded here in the past 18 months, and several more are in the pipeline. Each new bank means more than just tellers at a branch. To diversify beyond loans and deposits, more are expanding sales-oriented businesses such as financial planning, brokerage, insurance and investment banking.

Add it all up and you get a debit: People who can sell, manage or support financial services are in short supply.

Chris Weston, 24, of Raleigh is a prime example. The fresh-out-of-UNC-Wilmington graduate started at Wachovia this year and is already pulling in well over $50,000 a year as a financial specialist.

"It's amazing how other banks compete for people in our positions," said Weston, who advises wealthy clients on saving and investment options.

Indeed, it's not unusual for employees to trade up one company after another as offers stream in.

Recent graduate Chris Weston, 24, of Raleigh is already earning more than $50,000 annually, as a financial specialist at Wachovia. Weston bought a 2006 Toyota Avalon after taking a vacation in Spain.

In Wake County, where banks abound, entry-level loan officers make a third more this year than in 2004, according to the latest data from the N.C. Employment Security Commission. The average wage for accountants and auditors in the area is up more than 15 percent over the same period.

Labor experts say a surge in baby boomers and more wealthy people in the Southeast are raising demand for loans, advice and investment products.

"Recruiters will basically call and say, 'Come talk to us, and you can probably get x amount of money,'" said Weston, who recently vacationed in Spain and had enough left over to finance a 2006 Toyota Avalon.

According to UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School, the average salary for MBA graduates heading into financial services jumped 18 percent to $92,388 in 2005 from $78,598 in 2004. A similar increase is expected this year.

"It's very deal-driven by the huge increase in investment banking and the need for great candidates," said Shawn Graham, associate director of MBA career services at Kenan-Flagler.

He said financial companies such as Fidelity and BlackRock that had never before recruited on campus started doing so late last year.

Compensation packages are also escalating at the top of the command chain.

For banks with $500 million to $1 billion in assets, chief executive compensation rose more than 25 percent from 2003 to 2005, and even more for larger banks, according to SNL Financial, based in Weston, Va.

John Anthony left his post as chief administration officer at Raleigh-based Capital Bank for a similar position with better pay at TrustAtlantic Financial Corp., a Raleigh-based start-up led by Triangle banker James A. Beck.

Anthony declined to talk specifics on pay but said compensation, as well as his relationship with Beck, provided strong incentive to move. He's now faced with trying to recruit salespeople for TrustAtlantic. Beck is a former CEO of Capital Bank.

"These people are in such demand that anybody with a book of business to bring is highly coveted," Anthony said. That includes brokers, lenders, branch managers and mortgage originators. "It's not like you come to a bank, do a nice job and stay 30 years. It's what percentage of your current business you can bring with you."

He estimates that salaries for commercial lenders in the Triangle are up 30 percent to 40 percent since 2000.

Robert Wilcox, a director with Spherion, a national recruitment company with offices in Durham and Charlotte, said it's not just banks but all financial services that are looking for highly skilled people in sales and information technology.

For example, the number of financial analysts and advisers nationwide is projected to increase 25 percent from 2002 to 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's well above the 10 percent to 20 percent growth projected across all industries and sure to drive wages and commissions higher.

"It's hot across the business and finance spectrum, not just banking," said Wilcox.

Article At: Newsobserver

- ACA Talent