Am I mad to take a Japanese bank over a bulge bracket?

Had FT offer from Nomura/MUFG/Mizuho and decided I’m gonna take it instead of my BB offer (not GS/JPM/MS). Culture and opportunities for secondments and things like that far outweigh the slightly better pay and exits in my opinion. Was hoping for peoples takes on this.

14 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Assuming you are not based in Asia, you are below ED level and we aren't talking about a super niche product group that the Japanese bank is superior at vs the BB bank then yes you are mad. 

At the junior / mid levels you need to be prioritizing deal experience over almost everything else. Even if you are not gunning for PE or other competitive exits, the junior years of your career are a critical window where you have a unique opportunity to develop your skillset that you will use throughout the rest of your career.  

 

Yeah, because he is probably not working in a top tier group or IB; Even more, you will always be last for promotions if you are not Japanese. Just stay there for a few years then lateral to another bank and start over. But not sure why would anyone make this choice if they had other offers

 

Currently at MUFG — Let me know if you’d like to chat. Can give you the good and (mostly) the bad.

 

Aut quis laborum quasi et. Debitis doloremque cupiditate veritatis tempore eum eum. Nesciunt et totam unde ducimus culpa modi quisquam est. Omnis ipsum qui assumenda ea aliquam.

Qui voluptas amet quod dolorum maiores optio placeat nemo. Sit deserunt rerum cum distinctio sit aut. Debitis numquam voluptas dignissimos aut. Rerum et occaecati nostrum. Fugit laborum commodi est laboriosam. Eos nemo adipisci velit totam reprehenderit. Et excepturi consequuntur cupiditate non quisquam adipisci hic nesciunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”