Best Regional Banks in Chicago

Hi all! What are the biggest/strongest/most well known regional banks in Chicago? I have heard a lot about the MM banks but wanted some insight on the BB and EBs that have offices there. Thanks!

 

Citi has the largest presence in Chicago. Barclays analysts are generalists across tmt, sponsors, and industrials. Cs has a presence but I think it’s mostly nd kids as far as analysts go. MS has no analysts. Jpm has a diversified industrials group that iirc focuses on automotive. As far as eb’s goes, greenhill has an office there and analysts have placed very well historically. Moelis and Lazard also have offices. I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing but this is a start

 
Most Helpful

BBs

  • Citi is the strongest in Chicago, large presence
  • CS / BAML / JPM also quite strong, good presence across industrials, paper/packaging
  • Barclays does a lot of sponsors work out of Chicago (head of sponsors sits in Chicago) and covers non-traditional sectors (business services, some tech, and ed-tech as well).
  • MS and GS have significantly downsized the local presence, do most of the execution out of NY now
  • Not familiar with DB/UBS Chicago offices

EBs

  • Centerview / PJT - not really present.  Centerview hired Rahm Emanual but no real office in Chicago
  • Evercore - newer presence, small team of 10-15 people, don't know much about them
  • Greenhill - one of the stronger boutiques in Chicago, 5 MDs in the office, pure industrials work but one of the best teams at the firm
  • Moelis - cover some FIG, some consumer, some real estate -- good office, more laid back culture compared to other Moelis offices
  • Lazard - M&A has very little presence, mainly LMM, and large-cap they keep changing the strategy.  Restructuring is strong, with the head of restructuring sitting out of Chicago and nearly 30-40% of the group Chicago based
 

At the jr level it is more like 50/50 for Lazard RX across NY and Chicago. Same number of analysts and associates, actually more analysts in Chicago right now. Really strong group 

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”