BB Workouts / Special Credits Groups Pay & Hours?
Is anyone here familiar with the Workouts groups at BBs? These groups are called by different names across each bank, so a few samples below: - JPM Special Credits - CS Recovery Management International - Barclays Special Asset Management - Citi Distressed Credit & Restructuring
They got different names but all are basically just internal workouts groups that sit within their respective Credit Risk Management divisions.
I figure they must have a lot of activity right now in this environment and was curious if anyone had an info regarding their pay / hours / typical exit opps. Are these groups regarded (and paid) the same as just standalone credit risk groups (for leveraged underwriting), or are they treated in a different light?
Would super appreciate any info on this
Worked for a BB workout group in Chicago through a rotational program. The Workout team was the most wanted/coveted rotation. 1st years get 90k + bonus. A friend recently was hired in Texas and is making 100k + bonus. Work is pretty much classic workout across all clients, asset sales, renegotioate/refi, go over credit terms, and for large credits either syndicate or make plays by selling debt to P.E or Distressed Debt buyer for more than its worth bc of value of collateral (if there is any)
If you're thinking about just staying in a bank for the long term, I'd say internal workout groups are one of the underrated groups out there.
You almost never get cut because your group is countercyclical, is very thinly staffed to begin with, and requires specialized knowledge on debt restructuring processes which makes good lateral hires tough to find - search up workout group MDs and you'll see that they are almost always lifers who've spent 15+ years with the bank. If you remain in the group and become a senior workouts professional you are almost stress-free because the group has no origination / P&L responsibility as the "deal flow" is basically coming from the leveraged loan portfolio (basically loans that go bust). Lastly the hours are adequate (my friend at a BB workouts group was working 9-7 most days, no weekends as an analyst), and it gets much better as you move up seniority where you deal more with the actual workouts process and let the juniors deal with the regulatory reporting / admin parts of the job.
The only downside I would say is that pay is much lower than IBD pay (with the gap widening as you move up the ranks) but I don't think the pay is THAT bad if you view it from a long term perspective and take into account the job security / relatively stress free aspect of the job. Lastly, if want to take the IBD route, there is always opportunities to lateral internally with some networking (such as LevFin given credit nature of group) or externally recruit for RX analyst roles at the boutiques.
Also note it's very tough to find these roles as there are very limited spots overall and they rarely take people straight out of college