In 2009 the theory was that, as heads rolled in the post-Lehman landscape throughout the investment banking industry, risk was a relative recruitment sanctuary as firms looked to bolster this function to appease rising public and political anger.

In reality, hiring in risk was also almost non-existent at the height of the crisis, suggest recruiters, and it's not excluded from the slow-down now.

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This is not to say that hiring in risk is dead entirely. Recruiters point to numerous roles within Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and RBS, as well as within asset managers.

The type of roles, however, has changed: "This year we've seen a strong increase in the number of operational risk positions, where as the focus in 2009 was very much around credit risk," says Priya Mariannie, senior consultant, risk at PSD Group. "Banks are organising themselves to absorb a highly regulated environment.