What is driving financial-services hiring right now?

The motor finance reviews have put lending under a brighter spotlight than ever. Firms are checking old agreements, strengthening oversight and preparing for closer scrutiny, and that work needs people. The pattern we're seeing is clear: demand is skewing towards experienced, regulated professionals rather than entry-level hires.

This reflects a wider shift in the sector. In financial services, recruitment has generally been for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 and above roles, rather than RQF levels 3 to 5 GOV.UK's Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. In plain terms, firms are hiring for senior, specialist and degree-level positions, not junior ones.

For anyone building a lending or compliance team today, that tells you where the competition sits. The people who can interpret the rules, run a remediation programme and reassure a regulator are in short supply, and everyone wants them at once.

Which lending and compliance roles are growing?

The reviews touch almost every stage of the lending journey, so the roles opening up span several teams. Think of them in three groups.

• Compliance and conduct: compliance managers, conduct risk specialists and regulatory reporting analysts who make sure lending meets the rules.
• Remediation and redress: case handlers, complaints managers and remediation leads who review past agreements and put things right for affected borrowers.
• Lending and credit: underwriters, credit risk analysts and lending operations managers who keep responsible lending running day to day.

The common thread is seniority. The emphasis on RQF level 6 and above roles over RQF levels 3 to 5 the Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report shows employers are paying for judgement and qualifications, not just capacity. A remediation programme, for example, needs people who can make defensible decisions at pace, not simply process volume.

That creates a real opportunity for people already in financial services. If you've worked in credit, compliance or complaints, these reviews are a chance to move into more senior, specialist work.

How do you hire well in financial services?

Hiring for regulated roles is different from hiring elsewhere. The cost of the wrong person is higher, and the right person is harder to find. A few things help.

• Define the regulatory level early: be specific about the qualifications and experience the role genuinely needs, so you shortlist against the right bar.
• Test judgement, not just knowledge: use scenario questions about real lending or redress decisions to see how someone thinks under pressure.
• Move quickly: the best regulated professionals have options, so a slow process loses them.
• Look beyond the obvious: strong candidates often sit in adjacent sectors or roles, and a wider search surfaces them.

Speed and reach usually decide these hires. When demand clusters at the senior end, the firms that reach more qualified people faster tend to secure them first.

How can Reed.ai help you hire for lending roles?

That's where we come in. We search a database of 15 million candidates to find the lending, compliance and conduct professionals these reviews demand, and we rank a shortlist for you in seconds. We manage recruitment end to end, from first match to booked interview, so your team can stay focused on the work in front of them.

Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. It's priced around the value of finding the right person and running the whole process for you. If you're building a lending or compliance team right now, tell us what you need and we'll get started today.

Sources

• GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report