History student - commercial banking

Background: I'm reading history at an ivy and have one summer of work experience in equity research

Hi everyone - I've been researching careers in finance and found commercial banking interesting, but I don't know much about it. What are the leading firms in the sector? Do many people have an MBA? Do they look to hire students right out of university? I've had trouble finding 'commercial banking' roles online, are they listed differently on firms websites? I'd appreciate any insight. 

 

A lot of commercial banking recruitment has happened already. I can't speak for your school but Wells Fargo heavily promotes their commercial banking. You're most likely to find a CB placement in a smaller, regional bank. My friend got plenty of CB interviews with banks that maybe cover a few different states but don't have a multinational or countrywide presence like a BB does. 

If you don't mind me asking, OP. Is there a reason you want to do CB over continuing Equity Research? ER seems to be significantly more difficult to break into and higher paying than most CB roles (depending on placement)?

Goes to non-target disregard what he says.
 

Sure mate - I really enjoyed my internship but the culture of the firm I was at was pretty intense and I was working far more hours than I wanted to. I'm looking for a more relaxed but still interesting role in finance that allows me to spend more time on my friends, family, gf, and hobbies. 

 
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I gotcha, was interested in the context. 

To answer some of your other questions, and take it with a grain of salt because I myself do not work in CB but one of my closest friends in college is an An1 there -

1. BB's have a large CB presence, obviously. Goldman's CB team has been floundering for like almost a year now. 

2. Very few MBA's in CB. However, depending on if you get a role like Private Credit, some people move into Merchant Banking and get an MBA to switch into a more niche, competitive, and high paying Credit role

3. Commercial Banking, Corporate Finance, and FP&A are probably what the vast majority of "competitive" finance majors do in banking right after college. 

4. Sometimes it's not explicitly stated as Commercial Banking. In my previous experience it could sometimes be labeled as "Credit" or something along those lines. If you're interested in getting into it I would advice researching some of the different lines/teams in CB at the place you're researching

These were answered by my An1 friend in CB at a Bulge Bracket. If you have any follow up questions I'd be happy to help. 

Goes to non-target disregard what he says.
 

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