* New jobs at British banks at year high
* Job listings in June, July double from December levels
* Basic salaries rise by up to 20 percent
By William James
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Signs of life are returning to recruitment at Britain's bruised investment banks, with new job openings at a peak for the year and hiring expected to continue after the summer lull.
There were twice as many job listings across London's financial sector in June and July compared with December, according to data from recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley, which added it expected a "very, very good" August.
Interest in hiring is growing on hopes that strong half-year results from some banks herald a rebound after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
"(Earlier this year) clients were just testing the water, meeting people and then it didn't really lead anywhere," said Richard Madgwick, senior consultant at recruiters WH Marks Sattin. "Looking into the whites of my clients' eyes now, it seems as though they are being serious."
The upward trend is exaggerated in investment banks, which are playing catch-up after paring down staff to skeleton crews.
Hiring is picking up in specialist divisions, such as equity and risk management, and across the sector from bank start-ups to larger institutions.
"Where there were 11 or 12 last year on a team, they've been cut down to two or three," said Tej Dhindsa, head of sales and trading recruitment at Ingram Mayet Ltd.
"Now the people who head up those areas are thinking: 'Well, perhaps we actually need to hire one or two'."
BASIC PAY RISES
Average pay for July across all financial employees in London rose 6 percent on June's figure to 53,223 pounds ($87,340) per year, according to Morgan McKinley.
Although there is no clear trend in investment bankers' pay, basic salaries are rising where there is a demand for candidates. Some salaries offered to mid-level employees were up by as much as 20 percent from 12 months ago, consultants say.
"People who traditionally would have been on 50,000 pounds as an analyst are now on 55,000, and associates, who would have been on 60,000, are now on mid-70s," said Madgwick.
Demands by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator to curb excessive bonuses for top bankers, which have been blamed for helping sow the seeds of the credit crisis by encouraging inappropriate risk-taking, are expected to have little effect on basic pay levels in this range.
But competition for the best employees still working in the industry is putting upward pressure on salaries.
"There is no shortage of candidates who are looking to get back into the market," said Andrew Evans, managing director of Morgan McKinley's financial services division. "What there is a shortage of is very good candidates who are already in work, which is our clients' preference."
For those out of work, an alternative route into employment is through the smaller, boutique-level banks, which are making the most of an abundance of available banking talent.
"There are people taking an advantage out of a slow period. For example, the start-ups and brokerages who are picking up some really good members of staff -- ex-traders or sales guys -- for 80 percent of what they were being paid previously ... because they're looking to get back in," said Dhindsa.
Banks have some way to go before staffing levels return to pre-crisis levels. When asked about hiring levels, an official at one bank said: "Due to staff holidays, we don't have the resources to look into that today." ($1=.6093 Pound) (Editing by Will Waterman)