SECURITIES LENDING at I Banks

its front office, but in my opinion lame as hell. take 0 risk, 1mm for ED seems reasonable. its a pretty low risk/lower reward job.

-pat bateman

It should be easier to land a position there than other more popular areas, namely IBD and S&T.

What is the 'average' pay ceiling for say an MD in securities lending? Anyone? Anyone? Is it say like a couple mil? or less. Please chime in cuz my high is about to wear off and I just might decline a job interview if the money sucks.

Take 0 risk is not entirely true. Before the credit crunch, they took a lot of risk, and it really hurt them. Just think about the assets securities lenders bought (financial floaters, structured products), and think of how much they lost on these products when they had to mark them to market.

This year, things should be better. In the first half of the year, with an aggressive Fed, and spreads tigthening across asset classes, anything they bought should have made them money.

Risk appetite is very low now and a good question to ask in an interview is where do they think the business is headed.

I would still take the interview. It's good practice and the current job market is difficult.

I wouldn't decline any interview unless its a scheduling conflict that can't be worked around.

As far as Securities Lending goes... I know there are Securities Lending traders and sales... also... not sure, but don't securities lending traders trade short positions? You should see if that can possibly lead to a HF trading opportunity.

Im not sure what an Executive Director is... I know these titles carry different weight from one bank to the next. Is it above or below an MD?

securities lending generates revenue whether the market is good or bad. securities lending is part of prime brokerage. this business as whole is enjoying a boon. yes boon. securities lending traders, support, technologist jobs are secured in this market. ask state street, GS, MS, JPM, where they made their money last quarter

http://www.celent.com/PressReleases/20061120/SecLending.htm

I thought JPM, until as of late, didn't have a prime brokerage, but they have had Securities Lending... I'm pretty sure SL falls under the custodian umbrella more so than PB

Okay people, I think I will answer my own thread. Yesterday I met with and spoke to an MD in securities lending from JPMorgan who is a relative of an MD banker friend from MS. Top level pay in securities lending(depending on the normal and not so normal economic cycle)for MD's is in the range of $2-3mm. Not bad considering the hours are reasonable compared to IBanking. The guy said that overall pay is about half of typical IBanking positions but catches up once your an MD,ED or VP levels.

computer guy said it once, but in case you missed it, securities lending is part of prime brokerage. it really has no thing to do with trading if thats what you're thinking. basically helping hedge funds finance their positions... something they need to find the security, sometimes they need a place to hold their securities...etc

I think you're forgetting about the part of the securities lending business thats keeps custody of institutional investors' portfolios, and the traders who are lending those securities out to 3rd parties. If there are no securities lending traders, then where are brokers borrowing securities from on short-sales?

I don't really think you know what you're talking about.

FYI... this is copy-paste from someone in my directory...

International Securities Lending - Senior Trader - NY DESK

What are the hours like in securities lending and is it hard to get into from a non-target?

630-530 m-f and as tough as any other front office S&T spot

I have discovered some more on the securities lending position. In the last week I had the opportunity to meet and speak to some more key people in this field of banking. An MD from JPMorgan, Executive Director CS, VP and associates from MS. Basically, all of them love the job. They say the pay is very similar to IBD or S&T after sometime.

THIS IS THE BIG ONE.. ALL OF THEM, I REPEAT ALL OF THEM were from non target schools. The MD and ED both attended SUNY Albany- undergrad only and the VP and associates were from Baruch College and Queens College, respectively. So you do have a great shot not being from the more prominent schools, hope this helps

However, that doesnt mean that they didnt have stellar grades and other crap to land the jobs initially.

I interviewed for a prime brokerage job recently, to be an intern in the fall. I beleive securities lending falls under the PB umbrella. The guy was a trader for sure, and their floor was as busy and crazy as any trade floor. He said they make most of their revenue from "pure volume" similar to cash trading, they focus on their clients and relationships, they do take spreads on the books they trade, and they hold very big books and very small spreads. It seems like you need alot of the same skills as you need in sales to succeed in securities lending.

He also focused on that I will be answering the phones alot, and the faster they can answer the phones, the more $$$ they make, it seriously sounded mostly volume driven and less strategic than energy/FICC/derivatives.

There is alot of money in the arena though especially since the Hedge Funds are growing more and more everyday.

Im willing to bet my left nut that this will become as competetive as S&T or IBanking in the near future as it becomes more and more lucrative. The movement towards the higher "pay areas" takes longer though.

you cant go wrong with securities lending.

http://www2.goldmansachs.com/services/securities/securities-lending-prog...