Financial services recruiters say they have seen no signs of increases in demand for mortgage staff, despite mortgage lending jumping to a 10-month high.

The British Bankers’ Association reported that new mortgages rose by 16% in February to 28,179, the highest level since April 2008.

However, Lewis Stephen Greene, managing director of SGL Solutions, told Recruiter:  “Recruitment in the mortgage sector is down since December. I had 130 jobs in the mortgage sector in December, now it is down to 40.”

Greene says he hasn’t placed any mortgage advisers mortgage advisers with Northern Rock for 13 or 14 months because they aren’t lending.

“Whatever the government is doing it isn’t working,” he adds.

Barry Pendry, chief executive of Pendry Selection Services, told Recruiter: “There’s no business in mortgage recruitment. Anyone who is doing mortgage recruitment is really suffering.” Pendry says he got out of that market in August and now focuses on finding staff for unsecured lenders.