Anyone like/dislike banks for random reasons?
I was wondering if anyone else was like me and had random banks they liked or disliked for dumb reasons. It can be anything but I'll list mine:
Like:
- I always liked BMO simply because of its colors and the idea they are French Canadian. Don't know why I like that so much but I do.
- UBS's logo was always so cool to me. I also think red is too underused in branding. Also, I randomly think they are the nicest guys of BBs.
- I love the Jefferies font. That's all.
- I like the fact that Macquarie is Australian. Seems like everyone's crazy but fun cousin or something.
Dislike:
- I always disliked the purple in Guggenheim's branding. I just don't think purple should be in a logo
- For some reason, BAML always rubbed me the wrong way. The Bank of AMERICA and red, white, and blue made me think they are government related and so I dislike them even though this is completely false (note BMO's colors are the same but better shades (namely the blue))
- Rothschild always gave me snoody vibes
- Houlihan Lokey's colors give me Vanderbilt vibes and I don't know what that says. Also don't like they are headquartered in LA and the name is odd to me.
Anyone else got some?
There’s obviously all types of people in every bank and it is group dependent. But the employees from UBS NY know that their footprint is less than their peers. So my guess is that this houses more people that don’t really value prestige to the extent other banks do. Has more “nice guys”. I guess it’s easy to be caught up with the name of your bank. GS/MS attract top talent but some of this talent might not be as “nice” as other banks. Arrogance, lack of humility, prestige whores etc.
I don't respect anyone at Moelis. The fact you are ok joining the firm after all the culture issues(and deaths) makes me think you have either no self respect and are a pushover or they are bona-fide sociopath
Purely anecdotal but I have heard Moe La is attractive for exactly that reason - go getter attitude and top tier exits
Fitting user name for the comment
No doubt about that, if I had decided to stay in the west coast they would be my top option. I’m down for some batshit crazy suffering and no life for 2 years. Totally worth it
This right here, almost always the latter. The hardo is the scourge of this industry and almost everyone I know at moco is a hardo.
We are all a little bit hard for something ;)
Lmao sorry you got rejected bud
lol MoCo analyst exhibit 1, note the delusion he has that people who have options wanna work there
I promise you if any real talent wanted to apply and interview for the spot at Moelis that you failed into, you wouldn't have received your offer.
lol at all the shit i am getting for this post (likely from moelis analysts that need to justify their 110hr hell weeks)
and for the record, I was not rejected at moelis. from employees committing suicide, staffers sending 3am bed check emails, ken moelis working in the office until 11pm every night and everyone terrified to leave before him - and the overall reputation for having the WORST hours on the street (every finmeme account has basically made moelis a parody at this point) - working there is gonna be a big no from me dawg.
never met an analyst at moelis that enjoyed their life.
FYI all of the things you listed are things that happen across the street, other firms have just been better at keeping them hidden/not letting scandals get out. Moelis has taken active measures to address the idea of it being a sweatshop and if you talk to people at the firm they will tell you they enjoy it. Like any top firm (particularly EBs), being at Moelis comes with long hours at times given the increased responsibility at the analyst level (or every level for that matter). Everything in life comes with a trade-off. You might get worked but you are well compensated for it, get great work experience and end up exiting exceptionally well. People have to stop spreading this false idea that Moelis is THE sweatshop and a hellish place to work. Funny how many of the people who spread this rumor likely don’t even have the chops to get a first round interview there. It’s a false narrative, it’s the same experience as any other top group. Anyone who is actually in the know will tell you it’s a great opportunity (and they do). This is shown time and time again by the caliber of people they hire and the caliber of the firm.
This actually makes me sad, I think the extent that Moelis gets shit on forums like this/meme accounts is blown out of proportion, and i wouldn't go so far as to say I don't respect them... I respect them a lot.
I personally loved networking with Moelis, as everyone I spoke to was open and friendly.
I think at least they owned up to the issues (which, let's be honest pretty much every bank has) and have actively worked to fix it. Can't say the same for.... ex: PJT
Thanks moelis hr
Agreed - interviewed with Moelis & got an offer. Great group of people and they are very honest about the long hours and the nature of the work (not always blockbuster deals in the EMEA region).
You're an entitled moron / prick. There are plenty of kids that might bust their ass and get one offer. Tons of kids working their ass off from less than privileged backgrounds trying to break in and a job at Moelis is a dream come true... Then there are plenty of kids who really want to work in IB for the exits, you think they're going to take a MM bank or not do IB because they have to work 110 hours vs 100 to get to where they want? Plenty of groups across the street known for horrible culture, just because your view of banking comes from insta accounts doesn't mean no one at Moelis is respectable
I am fortunate for not having to go to Moelis but I'm not ignorant enough to think no one should accept an offer there...
I dislike Jefferies because the CEO shitposts on Instagram all day and gets into arguments with college students.
Wait what
If you look at one of the finance meme Instagram accounts, you’ll see that Rich Handler feels the need to comment on basically every post
Fucking preach
Lmao I was just about to say this. The first time I saw one of his comments, I was like Wtf?!?
Jefferies: slashes intern returns <50%
Rich Handler: preaching about how great the culture is, and how Jefferies > every other bank
Every asshole I've met in finance just happens to work at Citi. Not to say there aren't some nice people at Citi but God Citi people suck. Not exactly for no reason but just the only place I hate.
I feel this also, I've had great networking calls with people from every other bank but Citi. They're all sensitive and snobby as hell for some reason.
Same. A chip on the shoulder during the whole process, and constantly questioning if I actually wanted to go to Citi and wasn't using them as back-up. Pretty weird.
My experience too
felt the exact same way while recruiting
Citi is buns
Wow. 100% agree.
William Blair - kinda like their logo
PJT - nice color and logo could be abstract art or something
BofA - their color scheme and slide template is ugly
Wells Fargo - same as BofA
Jefferies - have heard enough stories from junior people..toxic culture mixed with bad leadership at the top
Rothschild - name makes you think it's super elitist, yet meh deal flow in the US (not sure if true, completely made that up by the fact that I have never met a single person who has worked there)
Have heard that about Rothschild US, the European teams apparently have really good deal flow there
Dude regarding Wells and BofA, I've networked with a lot of people at both banks an soooo many of them shit on each other; it's so weird.
I don’t like Lazard bc it looks too much like Lizard.
This cracks me up every time this happens
Hearing 'Evercore' makes me nut
calm down there prospect
When you get asked the why Evercore question, this is the only acceptable answer
Facts, makes my balls hurt... and I'm a girl
Evercore sounds cool as fuck. Amazing name. Then you learn what it stands for ("Everlasting Core Values") and it stops being cool
Jefferies sounds extremely silly to people outside of finance
“mY nAmE jEfF”
Moelis sounds like "mole"
Agreed, kinda bothers me. Sounds much better when people mistakenly pronounce it “Moe-Ellis”. Someone tell Ken he needs to change his name’s pronunciation
I heard one of the partners at a networking event pronouncing it as "Moe-Lis" rather than "Mole-is".
Sounds slightly better tbf
MS employees are brutal to network with. Culture there still a decade behind
What do you mean by that? If it’s not SJWy that sounds refreshing
Yeah because if I'm gonna work 90 hours a week with someone I really hope they're REDPILLED to the TITS
Goldman Sachs - Makes me think of Mr. Krabs, just penny pinchers and greedy
JP Morgan - Makes me think of Jamie Dimon's annoying voice - this is the bank where the Cogs from Toontown probably worked
BofA - Makes me think of both of my nuts and a nice summer day in Bryant Park
Morgan Stanley - Makes me think of white, prep school, trust fund kids named "Brad" or "Kate"
Barclays - Makes me think of the Nets...potential, but always sad like their NY office location
Credit Suisse - Makes me think of chain smoking Europeans asking if you have blow, 3:00am in Greenpoint
UBS - Sick logo and I never met anyone who works here, don't think they exist?
Jefferies - Eyebrows
Rothschild - Makes me think of the poshest British accent
Lazard - Makes me think of evil Lizard people
Evercore - Makes me think of those nerds in high school who never showered and always had the test-banks
Citi - Makes me think of unreliable and overpriced bikes
Moelis - Makes me think of Moe from the Simpsons - lonely, miserable, and hateful souls
Deutsche Bank - Makes me think of a big pile of Dookie - Dookie Bank
What’s the chance that we think about the exact thing when citi comes to mind
Oh man... I legit didn't think there's another soul alive who played Toontown.
Wish I could SB more than once...
That was gold haha. Seriously Morgan Stanley is WASP town and always will be. Just look at the origins of the bank next to First Boston back in the day. I remember my superday where I saw a few white kids with IVY banker bags flexin (yes I can attest to this). I mean nothin wrong with that but I knew what I was getting myself into lol.
I ruined some one of my favorite shorts crashing on a faulty Citi bike.
Lmao, agreed on so many of these. Very well put.
the eyebrows reference is elite
Care to explain?
This is the funniest thread I’ve seen in a while
I’m sure the banks’ selection process for candidates is just as arbitrary as your reasons for liking/disliking them. I guess we can call it even.
use to always want to work at Credit Suisse because their logo was super sexy and "Credit Suisse" sounds cool.
Wells Fargo. Never even met someone who works here. Makes me think of a mustard yellow and I really hate that color
Like: Credit Suisse, JPM, Morgan Stanley, Nomura - No other reasons just like names with intonation.
Dislike: Societe Generale - Fu**ing difficult to pronounce for me.
Agreed. I usually just pronounce it as “Sock” - “Gen” since I’m pretty sure I pronounce it incorrectly when saying the whole thing.
Just call it "General Society" dude lmao
Barclays: I am not a fan of their logo. Seems like something from the 80's/90's that didn't even look that great then.
Credit Suisse: Rolls off the tongue really well. Plus regular people think Swiss banks are secretive and cool.
Deutsche Bank: Their logo looks like they really want you to know they are all about forward slashes.
Evercore: Sounds like the most generic corporate name you could think up.
for what it's worth, Evercore was named for "everlasting core values"
that sounds like the most generic corporate name you could think up.
Barclays - agreed. logo should be a red, not blue
CS - agreed
DB - wdym?
Evercore - agreed
first that comes to mind
Goldman Sachs - "diversity"
JP Morgan - dimon makes gray hair look spectacular
BofA - the weird smell inside of their retail banks
Morgan Stanley - times square
Barclays - harden to the nets?
UBS - logo
Jefferies - eyebrows / rich ceo's of instagram
Rothschild - family $
Lazard - i forgot how to pronounce it
hsbc - airport
pwp - hr posts on wso
Citi - bikes
Moelis - sweatshop
Deutsche Bank - to bb or not to bb
bnp paribas - how to pronounce it?
wells - fraud
lehman - @dickfuld
citi - bikes haha
Jamie Dimon has great hair. I can't wait to have a full silver mane, then I can rock the light gray suit, white shirt, and light blue tie look
most people just say bnp
Do you have links to those HR posts from PWP
Piper Sandler because it's Piper Sandler
Always liked RBC solely based off their logo
Closest to Stratton Oakmont
Not wrong
I like animals in logos so I appreciate RBC and Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley: The dumb one in my group of friends got a BO job at MS in a weird city and now I associate the entire bank with him
BMO: I don't know what BMO was. I watch MLS and I saw their logo on Toronto FC's jerseys and I thought it was like a health insurance company or something. When I learned it was "Bank of Montreal" I was very conflicted. "Bank of Montreal" sounds dope, but the logo and initials annoy me. Can't tell how I feel about BMO.
Bank of America: BofA deez nuts. I can't get over it.
Wells Fargo: My grandparents lived on the west coast and they had Wells Fargo and would send me checks for birthdays/xmas. They weren't bazillionaires by any stretch of the imagination but they were well-to-do so I associated Wells with being "rich". Also, I love the stagecoach logo.
French Banks: Both my parents speak French and I am just below conversational. I think they all sound sick. Lazard was better when it was Lazard Freres & Co.
Evercore: Doesn't sound like a bank. What a weird name.
Barclays: Grew up watching EPL and hearing announcers say Barclays in a British accent so it feels sexy to me
Jefferies: Sounds like an auction house
Any context for the BofA comment?
There was a meme a few years ago where someone would ask if you’d want some BOFA (pronounced bow-fuh). Inevitably you’d ask what BOFA is, and they’d reply “BOFA deez nuts! Hah, gottem.”
BofA used to be named “Bank of America Merril Lynch” after they purchased Merril Lynch in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis. They were called BAML, but they recently rebranded and dropped the Merril Lynch name, so now they call themselves BofA (pronounced “bee-of-ay”). All of their emails are addressed @bofa, and many people who work there will correct you if you call it BAML.
So, BOFA DEEZ NUTS! Comes to mind when you see “BofA” for many people. I am included in this group of people.
Everyone I know that knows BMO pronounces it as “be-mo” instead of saying the acronym and that’s always made me think of it as a much smaller bank than it is. Smaller than its peers, but a pretty big bank in Canada
Between Sotheby's and Christie's, Jefferies definitely fits.
Ahahaha this is such a great thread
have a soft spot for French and Swiss banks purely because their names roll off the tongue nicely. Would love to tell someone I work at BNP Paribas, Soc Gen, or Credit Suisse as opposed to BofA.
Always liked Guggenheim because the name... not sure why
Not to mention bc they won a world series
A banking, baseball, and museum conglomerate
Like: any bank that didn't require a cover letter
Dislike: any bank that required a cover letter
PWP 5 questions
I place a huge prestige premium on whether or not the bank still holds the name of their Founders / original partners, especially if they sound a little ominous or convey old-world hierarchy. In particular: Rothschild, Lazard (was better when they were Lazard Frères though), Barclays, Lehman (RIP), Nomura (on the Asia side), etc. (GS/MS/JPM all fit in this too and so are cool, but the names are just a bit more saturated in the American public conscious.) I love the idea that I can refer to my financial institution as a "House" - like if something interesting was being rumored on the street, the local financial rag of record could say something totally pompous like "There's intrigue brewing in the House of Rothschild" or "Word is that there's discontent among the ranks at the House of Barclays." Finance is converging on these grotesque faceless mega brands, so I like the legacy of some old dead guy's name on the door because it makes you believe it's still possible to leave those kinds of legacies.
The worst name in all of Finance IMO is BNP Paribas, which is headquartered in Paris and is a merger of two different banks that were basically both called "Bank of Paris" and yet instead of merging the brand in an elegant way, they just tacked on two mangled corporate names in an ugly redundant way to create a dumb corporate Frankenstein brand. Banque de Paris would be a very cool and chic global finance brand, yet these idiots want to fly under some alphabet soup banner. WTF are you guys doing?
Your comment is really controversial, but I agree. For some reason that I can't understand, if a shop's name is the founder's name, I think of it more highly despite knowing nothing about it.
I honestly agree entirely. Legacy is everything
I have an imagine that Guggenheim is old street af because their CEO ran Bear. Didn’t recruit here at all and I haven’t caught up with my college buddy joined here in a bit so there is nothing backing this up.
BofA: they’re a credit card company that picked up ML at a Black Friday sale to create an IB platform that only does debt syndication.
the bofa take cuts deep
Credit Suisse sounds sexy and has a sick logo
I think their logo looks like 2 slices of cheese
What do you see
Idk why, maybe because of Florida office, but Raymond James gives me Caribbean Pirate vibes and I love that. Think they should rework the logo to look like that old Tampa Bay Buccs one haha
Raymond James does sound like a local CPA firm, like Jackson Hewitt
That's Captain James to you.
When I was poor, overdraft fees in college were a major buzz kill.
Always found Cazenove, Barings, Berenberg quite nice. Coutts and Pictet as for legacy of old money, as some of the lesser known family-owned private banks.
My uncle worked at Bear Stearns when I was a kid. I wanted to do the same because bears were my favorite animal.
Citi - always thought the name looked like a spelling mistake
I actually preferred when it was called Citicorp, sounded more grounded imo. Then the funky umbrella post merger ....
.
I was always on the edge about Evercore's name, and then after hearing they changed the company font to Arial, I'm out.
Trying so hard to be GS
Morgan Stanley. It's just that they act like their the top bank, and they'll never have the swag of Goldman. Like chill.
Also do not like BAIRD, just the name
Ones I like: PJT has a sick logo, BMO has cool colors agreed, Greenhill has a chill name, and Barclays has the best BB logo.
they're
Which bank has the most corporate sounding name?
Seeing votes for Evercore, Centerview, who else?
Manufacturers Hanover Corp.
Loved the name Banker's Trust, the image of First Boston
When I was in college, I interviewed at Perella Weinberg after receiving an offer elsewhere first so I decided to just put my balls on the table and ask some REAL questions. I asked this one associate who worked there “what do YOU do for fun?”
This associate stared blankly at me and seemed nervous. He hadn’t had fun in years. To make matters worse, he no longer m remembered the answer he memorized while recruiting long ago. (The true answer was polishing his pitch books before drifting off to sleep, but these days he was too tired and stressed to do even that.) In a rare moment of honesty, he told me the truth.
“Watering my ferns,” he said, after an uncomfortable pause.
I turned down my PwP offer on account of this conversation.
I'm crying, I don't even know the exact difference between a fern and other types of plants, but I love that he did
They’ve since been acquired but Sagent Advisors. Makes me think of some dried up crusty sage in a moldy office. They’re website was bunk too
Also, Rabobank. Makes me think of a rabid animals / chemicals
Anyone else see the animal protein expert at Rabobank
Idk man Robbing A Bank sounds pretty cool to me
Similique voluptas aut in omnis consequatur. Dolorem quod aspernatur est in debitis. Consectetur saepe dolor id amet pariatur doloremque nihil. Libero quis incidunt qui tempora modi. Dolores quaerat laudantium quis corporis. Facilis suscipit voluptatem neque totam magni voluptas.
In sed possimus nemo blanditiis saepe nesciunt enim. Et illo et autem autem fugit nisi accusantium. Expedita sint dolorem voluptatibus dolores corporis facere. Tempora amet consequatur cupiditate harum itaque eaque enim ut.
A itaque ipsa sed nihil. Fuga tempora magni maiores vel aperiam.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Laborum sint harum ea vero placeat temporibus iure dolorum. Quia molestiae tempore et libero eius.
Voluptatum tenetur amet molestiae sed. Delectus quaerat optio quas odit debitis eaque. Nam officia iure temporibus quae et rerum ratione.
Et officia est ab impedit sed corporis eligendi. Consequuntur dolorum et quod incidunt fugit. Dolor dolor temporibus quibusdam. Pariatur exercitationem consequatur voluptatibus autem.
Consequatur occaecati sit laudantium est nulla. Dignissimos ut sunt et eos sed in ea.
Ducimus ab blanditiis repudiandae molestiae in. Rem aut et est aut sed. Dolores commodi ducimus ea voluptatum repellat et. Et et dolorem at voluptas. Quia sunt qui id maxime voluptate id.
Aut iusto ut pariatur deserunt adipisci. Ut et nemo autem nisi minima aliquam velit. Iusto ullam excepturi eum ad. Voluptates impedit nesciunt fugit reiciendis est quis.
Minima est non debitis perferendis blanditiis nam. Natus sed excepturi sit aliquid laborum quam tempora. Sunt dolor nisi doloribus reprehenderit qui accusantium magni. Distinctio voluptatem ipsam dolores laudantium quam velit consectetur.
Nisi quisquam iusto non eos saepe facere. Eos at voluptatem aperiam et natus odit qui rem. Doloremque asperiores praesentium et occaecati. Velit sed cum voluptas libero quaerat possimus.
Consectetur accusantium unde molestias et doloremque architecto impedit. Quaerat numquam voluptas et quas non provident neque. Porro velit ipsa itaque repellat. Qui in exercitationem aperiam eligendi quia rem vero. Ut voluptas architecto quos harum qui cupiditate. Rem sit consequatur maiores tempore ducimus numquam possimus dolor.
Error facere numquam aliquid nobis et enim laborum. Delectus veniam sed impedit eos deserunt. Laudantium a voluptatem repellendus libero expedita. Vero at ab dolorum animi voluptatum ut error. Ipsa neque sit cupiditate accusantium dolorum.
Dolores in consectetur qui libero vel. Est magnam velit adipisci est. Et nesciunt corporis neque voluptate excepturi aut.
Laboriosam et est rem officia eius nihil. Cupiditate quisquam ut nulla quia occaecati.
Autem quibusdam qui doloremque voluptas dolorem. Quasi voluptates est iste similique unde. Corrupti esse tempora dolorem voluptas qui voluptatem.
Doloremque fugit dignissimos voluptatum aut rerum consectetur. Corporis et magnam expedita.
Officia aspernatur dolorem quia rerum. Nisi aliquam ea tenetur dignissimos itaque.
Sint consequatur aut odio necessitatibus veniam. Dolor praesentium quo vel numquam officia illo. Et pariatur consectetur reiciendis et aut commodi. Sit unde praesentium quia dolorum dignissimos qui tempore. Minima praesentium dolor et ex pariatur enim fugiat. Quia rerum et dolore ab aut rerum eaque. Fugit aliquid et reiciendis eveniet.