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The financial services industry is looking to capitalize on big tech layoffs and snap up top technical talent.
Developers wanting to work with the latest technology and get paid handsomely for it have historically flocked to Silicon Valley or Redmond, wanting to land jobs at tech giants like Google and Microsoft, or one of San Francisco’s plethora of well-funded startups.
As other industries digitized, they had to find innovative and expensive ways to attract this talent away from the established big tech career paths.
Now, as financial services companies embraced modern technology – from quantitative finance at the high end, to digital user experiences at retail banks – big tech companies also started to lose their aura, after rounds of layoffs and demands to return to the office.
That’s why the Wall Street Journal recently noted that “the coolest job in tech might actually be at a bank,” with a growing number of top graduates choosing big banks over big tech. How did we get here?
A new toolbox full of fun toys
The ability to work with the best technology is no longer limited to Silicon Valley giants. “As more industries have put a premium on tech innovation, large companies, including financial institutions, have become much more aggressive in their pursuit of top tech talent,” says Eric Paulsen, who’s worked on the hiring side in big tech and is currently the field CTO and VP for EMEA at the cloud development environment company, Coder.
For Matt Collingwood, managing director of VIQU IT Recruitment, who’s been involved in IT recruiting for over 27 years, the big banks have caught up in their ability to invest in cutting edge technology. “Big banks appeal more to developers and graduates because they have more money at their disposal,” he says “This often means they have a larger IT budget to invest in the latest tech, which is a major draw for developers.”
For example, banks are trying to improve the experience for developers, and in the process have “democratized access to AI, machine learning, and application development within the banks, enabling the candidates to work on the most cutting edge technologies and predictive modelling,” according to Paulsen.
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Capital One have all publicly modernized their tech stacks over the past decade, shifting to cloud technologies and hoovering up AI talent to work their magic on huge volumes of financial data. “That’s surely going to provide a far more dynamic and exciting environment for engineers,” Lucas Botzen, an HR expert and the CEO of Rivermate said.
It’s (mostly) about the money
Where it was once almost impossible to compete with FAANG (Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet) salaries and perks, “the appeal of a career at a big tech company is now fading,” according to Paulsen. “With layoffs and economic uncertainty, roles at large banks are starting to catch up. The overall compensation for comparable roles has become similar, making financial incentives less of a differentiator.”
Rivermate’s Botzen says that banks are catching up with the sorts of lavish perks formerly associated with big tech, just as those companies are starting to retrench. “Flexible work arrangements, wellness programs, and educational support make these positions far more attractive than the more traditional finance-focused roles of yesteryear,” he says.
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A cultural choice
Those different compensation patterns underlie different career paths. “Some people want agility, innovation, and better growth opportunities, which they find in tech companies,” says Botzen. On the other hand, “for developers in search of more stability and wanting the opportunity to contribute to impactful financial technology, positions in banking should be appealing.”
The banks are also changing, according to Collingwood. “In our experience working with big banks and others in the finance industry, over the past 10 to 15 there has been a considerable effort in the sector to change their reputation as an employer in general.”
“Previously, they were seen as very aggressive masculine spaces, but they have made a concerted effort to change their culture to attract more developers – in particular women – who wouldn’t have wanted to work with them before.” With Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently demanding more “masculine energy,” the culture shift is stark.
Location, location, location
In Europe, government investment in tech education has created a virtuous cycle, where the availability of skilled technical staff has given banks the talent pool they need to up their tech game. This is particularly pronounced in the financial centers of London and Frankfurt.
“In a similar vein to the UK, Germany has recently become a hub for technology businesses, with traditional German manufacturers also morphing into software-first companies, which has created a large engineering community. These candidates are then very attractive to the banking sector with their expertise within enterprises,” says Paulsen.
In the US, by contrast, the banking industry has several hubs around the country – and they aren’t necessarily tech hubs, leaving more traditional industries as a solid alternative to upping sticks and taking on the sky high rents of New York or San Francisco.
London • June 16 & 17, 2025
Speakers Gergely Orosz, Camille Fournier and Lara Hogan confirmed.
A level playing field
While the scales may be tipping, big tech roles are still highly sought after, and firms are willing to get creative when it comes to retention. “Big tech still holds a lot of sway in the talent market, but doesn’t quite have the free rein it once did, and the pressure to retain is higher than ever,” says Botzen.
Instead of big tech falling behind in the competition for tech talent, it’s now a more level playing field. “While big tech still holds an edge in innovation and culture, they’re ultimately adjusting to a more competitive talent market,” says Paulsen. “The gap between big tech and big banks as a career choice is smaller than ever.”
