Asia: Boutiques versus Non-BB Balance Sheet Banks

Trying to advise a friend looking to lateral up in HK / SG. They were previously at a local bank.

If you had the option of a Laz/Moelis/Evercore vs HSBC/Nomura/BNP, which would be better in this environment? Note Asia is very different and I have not seen those EBs on any deals ever.

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

Evercore is very strong in Asia relative to its size (SG regional HQ, very small satellite office in HK), and has advised quite a few significant regional deals recently (e.g. Grab's SPAC acquisition), but the office is largely carried by one rainmaker. Heard Moelis does fairly well in HK, not sure about SG. Both are fairly sweaty though. As for Lazard, not sure what they actually do in Asia. If it's Evercore / Moelis, would be worth considering and I think it there would be fairly good exposure and experience, though hours are very long.

As for HSBC / Nomura / BNP, all 3 aren't great in SG, but in HK HSBC does fairly well. Very strong DCM / levfin teams, though market is fairly weak now, and FIG / TMT / consumer teams are also competitive. Hours are very good, but pay has not caught up to street after recent increases. 

Purely from a business perspective, probably Evercore > HSBC / Moelis > Nomura / BNP > Lazard. Open to hearing thoughts from others on this as well.

 

Deleniti magni suscipit aliquam architecto ut qui placeat. Ea sit pariatur sint culpa perspiciatis eveniet aut. Quia eum repellendus delectus consequatur qui. Saepe nemo et voluptatem. Qui non aut ut et ullam.

Quam et vel earum saepe voluptatum at. Autem blanditiis voluptatibus quae doloribus consequatur nostrum aut. Quaerat aspernatur non voluptas quo numquam quas est. Explicabo numquam sed nulla facilis. Est nesciunt perspiciatis libero temporibus consequuntur est sunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”