Over the past week, Renaissance Capital has become better known for its diminishing trading income (down 94% in London in the year to December 31st 2010) than its enthusiasm to recruit. This is unfortunate: despite that revenue apocalypse, RenCap is still hiring in London.

The bank’s own website shows 5 open positions in London, for oil and gas analyst and associates, an M&A associate, a metals and mining banker, and a ‘global travel manager.’

However, this may not accurately reflect RenCap’s keenness to make the most of people being let go by its rivals. We understand it is still hiring and there is no freeze and the bank is still in growth mode. “Renaissance continues to take advantage of the favorable conditions to make significant hires,” says a spokesman.

That said, hiring is unlikely to ever be huge. Accounts filed for the year to December 31st show RenCap added 15 people in London over the previous 12 months.

More promisingly, it appears to have paid them well. Average total compensation per head was $528k (383k) excluding national insurance contributions, of which $145k was salary and $383k was bonus. This was more than BAML ($440k) but less than Goldman Sachs ($967k).

People also like working for RenCap in London: staff turnover there is only 5%. Although RenCap’s London equity trading income has all but disappeared, the company stresses that revenues across the company are on an upward trajectory and that results in London are not reflective of its performance as a whole.

Taru Oksman Ison, a Russia-focused headhunter and director of search firm Riverhouse Partners, says Russian banks (not just Renaissance Capital) are still hiring, both in London and Moscow. “It’s a good time for them in their stage of development. They can offer a growth story to attract people who are disillusioned or displaced.”

Troika Dialog also has an office in London, although doesn’t appear to have any vacancies here. This week, it emerged that it had poached Tod Berman from BAML as its head of investment banking.