WSO, can you hear me now?

b2 — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:24:34 -0400

I've posted before about how brutal hiring will be this coming fall, and people seem to get upset.

I "keep it real" and "tell it like it is" (for the 50th time, you're not going to get an interview with a 3.6 coming out of UMD, no matter how hard you try!), only to be countered by, "don't listen to that f*'er, try your best, work hard, network, and you'll be sure to get a position!" (by college freshmen, nonetheless, who are obviously quite in the know about this stuff)

As I forewarned earlier, Merrill's hiring freeze has just been enacted, and will likely be made public in the coming week. I'm 1 for 3 so far... just wait until the other 2 make anouncements...

But don't worry - I'm sure that your blind optimisim and touchy-feely kindness will snag you that job of your dreams!

Can you hear me now?

http://www.businesssheet.com/2008/8/merrill-lynch-hiring-freeze-through-...

Can specialized banks compete with universal banks in the long-term?

b2 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:24:14 -0400

I understand that certain specialty shops, such as GS, have done extremely well for themselves. I'm curious, however, how these banks can fare in the long term, especially in an era of bank consolidation. As we see deal size exponentially grow, companies are increasingly requesting, and banks are increasingly obligated to provide, financing for these deals. Banks who put their large balance sheets on the line to provide financing can always woo a dollar or two in M&A fees. If credit eases and we enter a new era of $100bn+ transactions, I can easily the likes of JPMorgan, Citi, BofA or HSBC leverageing their balance sheets into exclusive financial advisor roles.

Which large deals has Citi been involved in?

b2 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:15:38 -0400

Can anyone name any recently closed $bn+ deals in which Citi was a financial advisor (and whether it was lead/exclusive financial advisor, if known)?

I've worked/am working on 2 ~$10bn pending deals for which Citi is the counter-party, but I find myself on the other side of other banks (mostly Goldman) much more than Citi.

Is Citi's M&A drought what prompted the bank to drop so severely in Vault rankings?

Of course, I'm asking about closed deals, as in-progress stuff is neither guaranteed nor publicly shareable.

What are the chances of these deals closing?

b2 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:35:21 -0400

There's been a study that leaked deals have a roughly 50% chance of closing, whereas non-leaked deals have a ~75% (?) chance of closing...

I'm curious what current bankers (who might have worked on or might have some experience with these deals) think about the likelihood that the two scandalously leaked deals will close: $10bn+ E&P deal and $15bn+ TMT deal

If you worked on it, of course, no MNPI.

Best location to work...?

b2 — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:32:11 -0400

This post is targeted at bankers who have experience in more than one market.

I've been in banking for about 7 months now, but have mostly been bouncing around between different gigs. I've been with 3 different banks in 4 different locations (all the major hubs) and am trying to figure out where I want to settle down for the next few years. At this point, I've ruled out London, as I feel that London is essentially a mini-NY, with no reason to start in London over NY.

1.) New York

Pros:
-Love the people;
-atmosphere is very casual and laid back;
-prestige/credentials associated with working in New York (have been told this is very important by many senior people);
-higher bonuses than Asia (so I've been told);
-enjoy the city - plenty of beautiful girls

Cons:
-Don't love the group (I'd be doing one very specific niche of M&A, whereas in other places, I've had responsibility for this specific niche in addition to the greater scope of M&A);

Why WSO sucks (slightly long, slightly harsh)

b2 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:39:27 -0400

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I know exactly why this forum sucks - too many clueless, think-they-know-it-all, have-no-life-outside-of-this-forum prospective monkeys.

I've noticed a very sharp decline in legit members (i.e. justanotherbanker) because the topics posted are so inane and asinine - what's worse, the answers supplied are just as bad.

To all you 19 year olds offering "advice": regurgitating information that you've gathered off the internet doesn't do anyone any good - you haven't worked in banking, so stop pretending as if you have.

I'll be the first to admit that I've clashed heads with many prospectives on this forum - and I will tell you exactly why. I am a straight-shooter: I tell it as it is. I will be an ass to you if you say something stupid, and even more of an ass if you say something stupid and pretend as if you know what you are talking about (as 90% of the regulars on this forum do).

So tell me...

b2 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:05:12 -0400

...everything you know about Goldman's SSG.

Interview is in a few days.

Finally... some accurate info regarding the current condition...

b2 — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:48:59 -0400

Information below reflects data points from MS/ML/JPM/LEH/CS:

-Offer rates are between 30% and 80% - some banks that have had historically high, 90%+ offer rates are now below the 50% threshold.
-FT recruiting budget has been slashed to hell. Most banks have the FT class already set, minus one or two warm bodies. At least three of the aforementioned banks are not even visiting schools such as Duke next year.
-Q4 07 GDP growth was recently revised to reflect negative growth; Q1 08 was revised downward as well, and will likely be reanalyzed in the coming months. Very likely that we are in a recession, possibly headed for depression.
-many banks' senior economists do not believe that the effects of the credit crisis will alleviate by summer 09.
-if you're looking for, but don't already have, a FT BB IBD offer, you're pretty much screwed.

Banking is for the ALSO-RANS

b2 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:22:44 -0400

I doubt anyone on this forum will be able to answer the question, but I'm going to ask it anyway:

Why are there hardly any "HYP" alumni amongst "middle-management" MDs (the ones who aren't "Global Heads" of some division or hold some other executive title)? Most whom I've met have been from random schools such as Fresno State, UC Santa Monica, etc.

I see a couple of possibilities:
1.) Banking does not require intellectual capital. Top-tiered college graduates have better things to do (PhDs, etc. - maybe PE/HF). The smart ones who stay in banking usually become executives.

2.) Your interpersonal skills become much more important at the senior levels - these "intellectuals" are anti-social nerds who get weeded out early at the lower levels.

I'm very strongly leaning towards option 2.

Your theories are welcome.

A secret

b2 — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:09:03 -0400

For the SAs:

When bankers, especially in a product group, assign to you a task that is especially technical in nature, they hardly ever actually need to run the analysis.

Think twice about how you handle the assignment.