Credit Suisse reckons it’s due to hire 1,000 advisors globally in its private banking division (after taking on 120 in the last quarter alone), Morgan Stanley is rumoured to have appointed 519 new advisors already this year, Merrill Lynch has added 490 globally in the last 12 months and UBS is doing its best to stop its relationship managers being poached by everyone from Vestra to Julius Baer.

It’s no wonder. In Q208 Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division’s net revenues were $1.7bn – up 4% on a bumper Q207. Citi’s private banking arm is up by 4% on the same time last year. UBS, meanwhile, has promised to focus more heavily on its wealth management wing after haemorrhaging CHF17.3bn in the first half of 2008.

What’s more, according to the Financial Times family offices are eager to take on private bankers.

Mark Somers, managing director of private banking headhunter the Somers Partnership, says: “We’re as busy as we ever have been and there’s a very strong demand for private bankers with a good track record.”

But in spite of the hive of activity, it’s no easier to get a job.

Rodolphe Morteuil, managing director of headhunters McKinsey Mortreuil Clarke: “Clients refuse to compromise on quality, which doesn’t make the recruitment process any easier.”

Most private banks are looking for the same thing – a proven track record and, the holy grail, a transferable book of clients, says Christian Sulger managing director of private banking focused search firm Sulger Buel & Co.

When they find someone matching this description, their generosity knows no bounds: Morteuil says two year guaranteed bonuses and sign-ons are still on offer. But salaries have remained relative static. A top banker with 10+ years of asset gathering experience can command a package of £200k-£250k, according to recruiters.

Whether clients will follow bankers is questionable, however. Last week, UBS won a court injunction to prevent Vestra poaching any more of its staff and clients. Vestra is set to challenge the ruling in October. Until then, the staff it’s poached are forbidden from approaching any of their UBS contacts.