The US mortgage backed securitization market may be faltering, but recruiters say there are still plenty of opportunities in Europe.

“The US market is going through a downturn, but there’s still growth potential for the securitisation market in Continental and Eastern Europe,” says Ted Tracey, a headhunter in the area. “It’s difficult to pinpoint a bank that won’t be looking to hire commercial mortgage backed staff next year.”

“The US market is still quite robust, but our perception is that there’s much more hiring activity in Europe,” confirms Nicola Cadwallader, a securitisation specialist at London search firm Hogarth Davies Lloyd.

If the US commercial mortgage backed market is maturing as it approaches its tenth birthday, the European market is slightly more sprightly. A report by Barclays Capital suggests European issuance grew 30% in the first half of this year, to €22.5bn (15.1bn). The US market grew 25% during the same period, to €71.2bn.

But while the US market appears to be slowing down, with banks like Lehman cutting jobs as the US real estate boom falters, growth in Europe is expected to accelerate, with Germany in particular proving a fertile source of deals.

In London, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs are understood to be among the banks in the market for replacement mortgage backed hires, while recruiters say Bank of America is among those building in the area.

“There will be gaps for good loan originators, particularly with Continental European experience or strong relationships with UK clients that have activities on the Continent,” says Tracey. He says total compensation for a first year vice president in the mortgage backed market is in the region of 320,000.

Where does this leave US mortage securitisation staff at the likes of Lehman? Unfortunately, Tracey says opportunities to emigrate are limited: “US houses in particular prefer to move people internally.”

He says the US bankers who are best placed to make the move will be bi or even tri-lingual. “If a guy in the US is fluent in two or even three languages I’d be much more confident of placing him over here.”