Coutts & Co, the UK bank, Adam & Co (headquartered in Scotland) and RBS Coutts, the international private bank, are together hiring a total of 14 graduates this year, after the recruitment scheme was temporarily suspended. From 1998 to 2009, the firms hired an average of 10 graduates a year.

The halt in graduate hiring came at a time when RBS, which is partly owned by the UK government following a bailout, was battling to recover from massive losses sustained in the credit crunch. However, the private banking arm of RBS has still made hires: it is looking to boost headcount in the key Asian market, for example.

Other wealth management firms have had to tighten recruitment belts in the midst of the recession although executive search firms have told WealthBriefing they expect conditions to improve this year. Last year, Barclays Wealth said it was cutting its workforce.

According to latest figures, Coutts UK has a total headcount of about 2,100 staff. Adam & Co has about 365 employees.