Big salaries on offer at RBS...but possibly not in Scotland

State-owned banks like RBS and Lloyds TSB are rumoured to be offering some tasty incentives to stem the exodus of top talent they're determined to keep. However, whether this stretches north of the border is a different matter.

The theory doing the rounds at the moment is that those banks with a substantial government stake facing up to the prospect that they may lose some of their best staff. The Times says that vastly inflated basic salaries are being offered to key employees as government pressure means bonuses are a no-no.

The Wall Street Journal suggests it's also offering high commissions and multi-year guarantees, and it's rumoured to have given Antonio Polverino - it's incoming head of fixed income currencies and commodities sales in London - a package worth $5m over two years.

Obviously, the main beneficiaries of this are going to be the investment bankers, but one resourcing director at an international lender believes this is beginning to worm its way towards the retail and commercial sector.

"We are beginning to see organisations coming up with retention schemes and bigger base salaries to keep people in the organisation," they said. "Lloyds and RBS will be offering retention packages for people to stay."

Good news indeed, but not necessarily for those based in Scotland. This has yet to materialise, say recruiters, and one headhunter believes this is currently only a London phenomenon.

"The market is much more fluid down south, and in Scotland at the moment there simply aren't any opportunities for even top staff to pursue if they wanted to," he says.

Another says Scottish bankers will simply be thankful to avoid any future cuts.

There is some hope - on the retail side, Tesco Personal Finance and Virgin Bank are beginning to build up their teams in Scotland, while HSBC has hinted at expansion plans in the corporate banking arena north of the border.

But it's still and incredibly tough environment to job hunt in. One corporate banker who was recently made redundant tells us that he's considering switching to an entirely different sector. The vast majority of those who were cut with him are in the same position, he says.