Bankers decide to take their talents to...Cleveland?
By now, I'm sure all of WSO is sick of the Wall Street vs. tech debate, but this article from Bloomberg is saying that bankers are not only leaving for tech but also smaller banks in cities like Cleveland.
Wall Street banks have been bleeding talent to hedge funds, buyout firms and technology companies. Now they’re facing another predator: smaller lenders in states like Ohio and Rhode Island.
U.S. regional banks are luring executives from global rivals with an ease and frequency unseen before.About half the recruits for senior-level openings at mid-size banks are people whose resumes lead with names including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., estimates Robert Voth, managing director in the financial services group at Russell Reynolds Associates, a recruiting firm. The share was about a fifth before 2008’s credit crisis, he said.
In interviews, more than a dozen senior-level defectors cited a variety of reasons for moves in the past two years: the chance to influence big decisions without being overwhelmed by bureaucracy; the desire to play the hero in a turnaround; and better work-life balance. They joined firms such as Regions Financial Corp. in Birmingham, Alabama, and Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati.
While I've never lived in cities like Birmingham or Cleveland, it does seem that bankers would be taking a loss in terms of the liveliness and "big city feel" of a New York City or a San Francisco while of course gaining the benefits of their respective cities. Also, it seems that while being a bigger fish in a smaller pond is great and all, these are bankers that have already established themselves in BB's, so it does seem that a junior stint at a BB might still be a desired path for some.
What do you guys think? If you were in a senior level position at a BB, would you go to a smaller bank to make a bigger "impact"? Would you guys be like 2014 LeBron and "come home" to Cleveland or would you guys take your talents else where?
By "Bankers", this article is referring to corporate banking / risk management. There may be less of an impact for someone moving from BB corp banking / risk management to a regional lending bank (Key, Fifth Third, Regions). For anyone worth half their weight in IBD, if they've worked their way to MD at a BB, that would imply they're a strong performer and would likely not move to a bank with little/no advisory relationships. Unless they're getting paid astronomical numbers. Only caveat there would be if the smaller bank is willing to hire a VP from a BB IBD division and promote him to MD. Have seen that happen, but I wouldn't say that is poaching top talent.
I'm going to bring the League Table Championship back home to Cleveland.
I'd purposely interview for a position in Cleveland just so that I could have the following conversation with the recruiter when I get offered a job:
"So, you're interested in joining us?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm going to take my talents to South Beach, and join a Miami hedge fund."
"In interviews, more than a dozen senior-level defectors cited a variety of reasons for moves in the past two years: the chance to influence big decisions without being overwhelmed by bureaucracy; the desire to play the hero in a turnaround; and better work-life balance."
This combined with a desire for work-life balance may grow as people move from the ambitious routes towards realizing there is more to life.
Though that is more towards later-in-career individuals, still gotta take your lashes while you're young.
I've never seen this happen at the MD level, but I have seen plenty of career-track bankers at the Associate/VP level move to smaller, regional cities for a better work/life balance, lower cost of living, etc.
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