Ireland’s domestic banks may be on the cusp of further redundancies, but the corporate banking teams of international firms are steadily growing – and candidates are clamouring for the opportunities.

If the hype is to be believed, there are many reasons for optimism around employment prospects within international banks based in Ireland.

For a start, the IFSC may be about to see a new player in the form of Chinese banking behemoth ICBC. Then there’s the prediction from the Irish Business and Employers Federation (Ibec), which says in its latest quarterly report that “growth in international finance may, we believe, offset the expected job losses in the domestic banking sector”.

“Traditionally, international banks would have found it hard to sway corporate banking talent away from domestic institutions, but they’ve become more attractive overnight,” says Eoin Blake, director of headhunters Lincoln Search & Selection. “Because they don’t have the property anchor around their necks, they are gaining market share and sourcing new deals. This is an attractive proposition to bankers in Irish firms.”

The likes of BNP Paribas, HSBC and Barclays are all believed to be steadily building their teams in Ireland.

“These teams have been growing, while Irish banks have been losing staff,” adds Blake. “What’s more, international banks never stopped paying bonuses, which is obviously a key selling point when Irish firms have cancelled them entirely.”

Still, it would be wrong to assume that Irish banks have stopped recruiting entirely. While ostensibly recruitment freezes are in place, the banks are offsetting this with contract recruitment.

“We’re actually seeing the majority of hiring within the banking sector coming out of domestic institutions, but this is still largely on a contract basis,” says Andrea Clarkson, manager, financial services at recruiters Premier Group.

One possible spanner in the works also comes in the form of the IFSC’s proposed reform of corporate governance in the banking sector.

In a strongly worded submission to regulator, a group of Irish-based German banks said this “perceived over-regulation” could see international banks move away from the country.

“We strongly believe that the vast majority of this type of IFSC bank will reconsider their investment in Ireland if the goalposts were moved now and the proposed governance rules were to be enforced,” said the submission.