How Banks Win in Spring Recruitment Competition Against Internet "Big Tech" Companies for Tech Talent

Tuchong Creative/Content Supply

Reporter Huang Yulin, Securities Times

In March, the “battle for talent” in the financial sector has once again begun.

Recently, six major state-owned banks including ICBC, CCB, ABC, BOC, and CMB, as well as joint-stock banks like Ping An Bank, CITIC Bank, and China Merchants Bank, along with city and rural commercial banks such as Beijing Bank and Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank, have densely released spring campus recruitment notices, fully opening the online application channels for talent.

The Securities Times reporter reviewed the recruitment announcements from various institutions and found that the structure of positions in the banks’ spring campus recruitment is undergoing a round of adjustment. The most direct change is reflected in the variation of quotas: on one hand, the recruitment efforts and proportion of technology talents are increasing year by year; on the other hand, traditional roles such as teller and general branch positions still exist in certain scale, but their numbers have not significantly increased.

Data from recruitment reflects the phased progress of digital transformation in the banking industry. Industry insiders point out that, against the backdrop of sustained pressure on net interest margins, commercial banks’ technological demands have shifted from basic “business online” to in-depth “business intelligence.” The recruitment focus of each bank is now highly concentrated on frontier areas such as large model applications, intelligent agents, and privacy computing.

Major State-Owned Banks Recruit Thousands

According to the Securities Times, since mid-March, more than ten banks, including the Big Six state-owned banks—ICBC, ABC, BOC, CCB, CMB, and Postal Savings Bank—have released their 2026 spring campus recruitment notices. In terms of scale, these state-owned banks remain the main force in this spring’s recruitment, with China Bank offering nearly 4,000 positions and CCB about 1,400.

“Banks are an important part of financial services, with numerous branches and diverse roles, making them a preferred employment choice for many college graduates each year,” said a teacher from a university in East China to the Securities Times.

For example, China Bank’s spring recruitment covers departments directly under the head office, domestic branches, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, overseas institutions, and comprehensive management companies. Positions include retail marketing, teller roles, IT positions, and intelligent operations.

It is worth noting that many banks actively respond to policies by recruiting specialized talents. For instance, CCB has launched a “Rural Revitalization” special recruitment, with over 540 positions across 14 branches; ICBC has set up county-specific positions open to all majors, aiming to attract graduates committed to rural revitalization.

From “General IT” to “Hardcore AI”

The Securities Times notes that demand for technology talents in the 2026 spring campus recruitment continues to grow. In some banks’ announcements, technology roles even account for half of the recruitment needs in the head office departments.

China Bank’s spring campus recruitment shows that almost all positions in the head office departments seeking talent are related to technology, including technology operations centers, software centers, remote banking centers, and mainly information technology roles.

Ping An Bank has also set up a dedicated technology talent recruitment event. Its FinTech department has developed a campus training program centered on a “Finance + Technology” dual-spiral cultivation system, providing practical platforms in AI, systems engineering, and information security. Positions in algorithms, data development, and front-end development are in high demand.

As the open-source AI ecosystem matures, banks’ requirements for tech talents are becoming more detailed, shifting from “general IT” to “hardcore AI.”

The Remote Banking Center of China Bank (Beijing) emphasizes in its recruitment for intelligent operations roles that the position requires promoting the intelligent construction and operation of risk control and business processes, responsible for planning and applying intelligent scenarios, designing and training robots, building corpora, and advancing intelligent business operations and system development. It also involves maintaining knowledge bases for text and voice robots, requiring proficiency in training tools and data analysis skills to continuously optimize intelligent Q&A performance.

The Shenzhen branch of Bank of Beijing’s special recruitment for FinTech talents indicates that the main responsibilities for software development roles include big data and AI development, blockchain and distributed database development, and banking system development.

Tech Talents Are Highly Sought After

After years of building financial technology capabilities, the demand for tech talents across banks has gradually diversified.

Wang Pengbo, senior analyst at Broadcom Consulting, said: “State-owned banks focus more on system infrastructure, cloud architecture, data security, and compliance, requiring candidates to have solid technical skills and stability to handle large-scale system construction. Joint-stock banks tend to favor AI implementation, intelligent risk control, and retail finance scenarios that can produce results, thus valuing practical talents with both technical and business skills. City and rural commercial banks are more pragmatic, looking for quick starters capable of lightweight development and localized scenarios, emphasizing rapid implementation.”

Wang Pengbo believes that increasingly detailed roles indicate that banks are no longer satisfied with simple online transformation but are actively reconstructing business with AI and large models. Tech departments are shifting from cost centers to value centers.

“The most urgent need in banking now is for versatile talents who combine finance, AI, and engineering—those who understand credit and risk control, can fine-tune large models, develop intelligent agents, and implement projects,” Wang said.

Banks have prioritized recruiting tech talents but also face challenges. The Securities Times notes that while financial institutions are issuing talent recruitment orders, internet giants like Tencent, ByteDance, and Baidu have also launched their 2026 campus spring recruitment, intensifying the competition for tech talents.

“Many bank executives have revealed that it’s quite difficult to find truly suitable FinTech talents. Compared to popular internet ‘big factories,’ banks still need to optimize their talent evaluation, diversified compensation incentives, and development and training opportunities,” an industry insider told the Securities Times.

Dong Ximiao, Chief Economist at Lending Club and Deputy Director of Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, pointed out that AI applications are not only driving positive changes in business, organization, and cognition in the financial industry but also bringing new issues in technology, regulation, and talent. “To make good use of technology and retain talent, the industry needs to foster an open, inclusive, and tolerant innovative culture; promote collaboration in job assessments; and build a healthy talent ecosystem.”

Wang Pengbo added, “Banks don’t need to compete head-to-head with internet ‘big factories’ for top salaries. They can leverage multiple development paths in technology, management, and business, along with long-term benefits like the six insurances and two funds, to create advantages.” He emphasized that to retain talent, it’s crucial to bring cutting-edge technology closer to financial scenarios and provide a better work environment and career growth space.