eFinancialCareers

Enjoy it while you can, graduate salaries may have peaked.

Graduates setting out on a career in banking can expect to earn more than their peers – but don't get too excited, there are indications that banks are putting the brakes on salary growth.

According to this year's annual survey of graduate salaries and vacancies by the Association of Graduate Recruiters, banking is the top graduate payer, beating law into second place.

Starting salaries for graduates working in 'banking and financial services' average out at around £37k, with those in investment banking marginally lower at £36k and law at £35.7k.

IB was the top payer last year, but was knocked off its perch this year by "a handful of particularly high-paying organisations", says AGR chief executive Carl Gilleard.

Despite this, salary growth for graduates in the sector has stalled and in some cases has actually gone into reverse.

Investment banks and fund managers reported no change in average starting salaries on last year and banking and financial services firms recorded a 2.7% drop, against a 15% rise among law firms.

Employers in London as a whole say they expect to see starting salaries decrease by 5% this year, says the association.

Gilleard points to a growing reluctance among all employers, with banking no exception, to pay over the odds for relatively inexperienced graduates, however bright their potential. "Graduates must remain realistic in view of their limited experience," he says.