Dec 19, 2023

Commercial Banking exit opps

First year analyst in Middle Market banking wondering if I should stay the path of CB or lateral to another industry with better pay and more challenging. The hours are great in commercial banking but I wouldn’t mind stepping it up to 50-55 a week considering i wanna move next fall to a bigger city and better opportunity with a bump in pay. Any advice is very much appreciated.

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Based on the most helpful WSO content, exit opportunities in commercial banking can be quite broad and largely depend on your personal experience and the relationships you build. Here are some potential paths you could consider:

  1. Investment Banking and Capital Markets: With corporate banking experience, moving into investment banking and capital markets can be a realistic exit. This would likely involve developing a good working relationship with groups you work with and demonstrating your industry knowledge and work quality.

  2. Debt Investing: Common exits for corporate banking on the buyside typically involve debt investing, especially loans. This could include private credit funds, CLOs, and other credit funds.

  3. Other Career Paths: There are also exits to private equity, corporate development, business school, management consulting, and many other career paths. At the VP and up level, common exits are treasurer roles, sometimes CFO roles, and other banks.

  4. Internal Moves: For well-respected junior bankers with a good internal network, it is quite feasible to move into almost any group within the bank. External exits are typically other banks, business school for career changers, working for a client, or corporate finance jobs.

Remember, the key is to go above and beyond what's expected of you and to network effectively. Your exit opportunities will largely depend on what you make of them.

Sources: 2017 Commercial/Corporate Banking Bonuses, BB Corporate Banking Exit Opps?, 2017 Commercial/Corporate Banking Bonuses, Breakdown of Post-IB Exit Opportunities, A Guide for Switching From Commercial Banking to Investment Banking

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

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