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Banks in Australia are struggling to find and keep talent as a limited pool of locals is lured offshore by lucrative packages, increasing staffing costs as employers are forced to pay more. While banks in the United States are starting to shed staff as the subprime mortgage squeeze bites, the industry in Australia has thousands of positions unfilled. "It is absolutely a candidate's market," said Francoise Gelbard, a senior researcher at Talent Partners, an executive search firm. It took National Australia Bank nine months to fill a senior syndicate role in its markets division, and several of its rivals have had similar senior positions open for many months, though the unfilled positions do not appear to be impeding operations or preventing banks from expanding their businesses.