It’s the time of year when investment banks reveal who’s been promoted to managing director. For corporate financiers, recruiters say the move is harder to make than ever.

“There’s still overcrowding at managing director level in corporate finance,” says Neil McKay, a consultant at search firm Sheffield Haworth. “Moving from executive director to managing director remains a very tough call. Fewer people than anticipated have left the industry at senior levels,” he adds.

The good news is that McKay says banks this year paid higher bonuses to placate ambitious corporate financiers who didn’t get promoted. He says ambitious EDs received 25% more than MD promotes, with the addition paid largely in stock.

The other good news is that despite claims that corporate financiers are finding it harder to become managing directors, banks seem to be making more managing directors overall. This week, UBS announced the promotion of 367 people to managing director, up from 309 last year. Similarly, Morgan Stanley promoted 10% more MDs this year than last year. A spokesman for UBS said the upturn in promotions reflected growth in the business.

Banks’ lists of MD promotes also reveal interesting discrepancies in the success of women. At Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs this year, some 20% of MD promotes were women. At UBS by comparison, the figure was closer to 14%.