BofA Comp Thread 2024
Bonuses are out 1/27. Starting a comp thread to see the damage.
- Title/Location
- Base/Bonus
- Group (Product, Coverage, etc)
- Rating
- Level of satisfaction (lol)
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Career Resources
Terrible
Bump
Horrific
Absolutely fucking disgusting
AAAAAAAND
It's pretty bad once again... Don't know my peers' numbers yet (and hopefully it's just me who got fked but srsly doubt it) but my comp is well below other BB datapoints I saw here.
Srsly, go somewhere else if you have any options (time to dust off my cv)
Cheers
What year VP and what was the number?
DEL
NY IB
ASO1 175k base / 65k bonus all cash
EM
Dear god. That’s basically the same as last year, if not a bit worse
Which bucket?
What do you think ASO1 EM would be this year? Is it typically a flat number for all individuals of a given rating or a range such that folks with the same rating can get different numbers? Also, how does the stock component work, as I noticed your's was all cash? Sorry for all the questions.
Confirming comp is basically the same as last year. I in other words, dogshit
This place sucks
I'm leaving.
BofA can have fun with their Female MBA Associates.
C&R at this shop is a JOKE.
Fully agree. Used to work there. That team is so political. Merit goes nowhere there during bonus season. Doesn’t matter how good you are and what deals you work on. It’s a popularity contest. They have always rewarded the wrong people and that’s why they leave. My buddy there told me pretty much everyone is planning on leaving
I’m in another group and it’s the same thing. Except it doesn’t matter what rating you got… no one got paid well.
I heard the same. They only took care of a few and fucked everyone else. I guess they will be aggressively hiring soon.
Not great, Bob.
Looks like not all but some people will get paid - "Bank of America is expected to increase its bonus pool for investment bankers by an average of 10% for the 2024 performance year (Source: Reuters article "Bank of America bonuses for investment bankers to rise about 10%, source says")
The issue is that the bank paid so terribly last year that a 10% bump is immaterial. A 10% increase on $0 is $0
Banking at BofA (& many BBs) is becoming increasingly unattractive from comp POV
Generally agree but BofA is on another level. Look at the citi thread, the numbers are nowhere near as bad
What else is there to do?
ASO1 coverage
E/M
$75k (52.5k cash and 22.5k stock)
disappointed with overall number and more so with the 30% stock component
30% vested over 4 years is crazy - 4 years ago it was 20%, then they bumped to 25% believe 2 years ago and now 30%...on another level....
Unreal seriously!
Honest question - are any Associates+ planning to stay at BoA since this seems to be the new normal for compensation? My first full associate year at an EB was >$400K cash comp, so just trying to understand why people would choose to do this job for that lackluster comp.
Is work / life more reasonable? Also, is BoA a 2 year analyst program, in which case ASO1 at BoA =/= ASO1 at an EB since they are typically 3 year programs?
It depends on the group. A lot of groups at BofA are very bloated, where there are 3 associates on deals and people work 40-50 hour weeks. Other groups are very sweaty and have decent deal flow. They all get paid roughly the same at the junior level, which is unfair and why certain groups are having retention issues.
If you are in one of the sweatier groups, totally agree that staying and working 80+ hours/week for a sub-6 figure bonus as a senior associate is ridiculous. I think there will be a large exodus this year - some people left last year but not enough banks were hiring. This year, they are.
If you stuck around, do you expect this year to be better?
Any VP numbers?
Heard VPs are flat to later year
This is just an absolute joke, why are juniors working 80-100 hours for a $70k pre-tax bonus.
If comp is this bad, hours should be aligned with other careers in that pay range lol
Is there any team at BofA that pays well? What about their S&T business?
Somebody gotta have good numbers
ASO 3
M/E
$40k
EMEA
Bruh
Prayers in the chat for this fallen soldier
If it makes you feel any better that is essentially my total annual compensation. Based in Europe.
what is your base? what bucket?
sorry to hear - am in a similar situation GBP40 at a different bank senior associate
Heard through the grapevine analyst bonus from someone hit around 70k? This true for some ?
Analyst are getting paid in summer
Analysts get paid in the summer. They received bigger bonuses than associates
Probably research. I heard that ER analysts that got promoted received ~$200K all in this year. Seems like BofA is about as well run as the Giants and Jets at this point from a comp perspective. I don't even work there, but why is an ER analyst receiving all-in comp even close to an IB ASO1?
If promoted to Analyst is correct like the other commenter mentioned, you start at associate and are promoted to Analyst when you run a sector coverage. This would mean most analysts in ER are more senior than an ASO1 in IB. If he means analyst as in a year 1 associate then yes that is crazy outside of biotech.
ASO0 Markets Product Sales Group - NYC
$45k stub
Got $95k 6 months ago as AN2
Were comp numbers really as bad as this thread indicates?
45k stub is standardized, that's what everyone gets for their stub
Wasn’t that 35k?
Yeah I’m aware, was moreso curious about ASO1s and above considering my AN2 comp was better than most posting here
so analyst numbers are good.... so they want associates and some VPs gone
Not sure how good of a strategy that is, high performers will leave and poor performers will stay and BofA will be left with shit.
But senior management knows majority of the business is due to BofA brand name and balance sheet rather than specific bankers. They have been very smart on how they built their business and which segments they want to focus on; IB doesn't look like one of their key growth focus.
My group is very thin at both the associate and VP level after last year… not sure what the line of thinking is tbh.
Correct that this strategy causes good people to leave and bad ones to stay. Everyone wants to leave and the bad performers lack attractiveness on the open market, so they hang around. Good performers leave to literally any other bank.
ASO3 Product
M/E rating
$100k bonus (70%/30% cash/stock)
VP promote base $225k->$275k
Holy shit
Director 1, $475K, $125K bonus, Mid Bucket
RIP.
Holy shit
Before people tell me it is because I suck at the job, I have enough data points from other directors today that were both mid bucket and top bucket to know my bonus was not an aberration by any means.
Right there with you but $500k… offensive
425+125 isn't 500
Director salary is 350k or am i misunderstanding?
you are misunderstanding
ASO3 to VP1 NY
Coverage
$100k bonus ~30% stock ME rating
I’m leaving this year. Should have left last year. Literally any other bank will pay more. Too much useless headcount drags down pay and morale
Does M/E mean you're part of the useless headcount? That's the bottom half of performers correct?
ME is middle bucket. This year, bottom 50% of associates got MM (bottom bucket), top 10% got EE, and the 40% in between got EM/ME. Heard first hand from group head.
I definitely feel useless most of the time though.
Nope, ME is considered middle to above average performer. It is now grouped with EM as of this year. Certainly doesn’t feel like it though
And yet they promoted you to VP... this is what's wrong with BofA
ME is typically mid to upper mid bucket u goon. Not underperformers.
Get your facts straight and understand the buckets before you try to start picking fights on an online forum
Does anyone have PubFin numbers? Willing to trade (my title is outdated).
Probably very close if not the exact same as all numbers you’re seeing (small chance could be higher )
DM me
Did you ever get your answer about PubFin? I’m curious
Did u get PubFin numbers? I’m curious
Any info ? Not sure if messages are going through
Any info? Not sure if messages are going through
BofA pays like trash again and all outraged juniors claim they're gonna leave....and yet it never seems to materialize haha, I'm sure it will be the same scenario next year, not sure why anyone would've stuck around after the past 2 years but BofA clearly recognizes that nobody's leaving....
People didn't leave because they couldn't - think that's changing this year, based on what I'm hearing (seeing) from juniors.
A decent chunk of associates in my group left last year, when banks were barely hiring. This year there are a lot more openings. I think a lot of people will leave again, particularly those with execution reps (which not everyone at BofA has, admittedly)
There's a mass exodus every single time in Feb/Mar at BofA. They're not claiming they're gonna leave they are leaving... Last year a whole team almost fell apart because 3/4th of that cover group left.
Honestly impressive they’re able to pay so bad and finish #3 in total fees every year
Why would paying juniors 60k bonuses cause them to lose sales
I think it’ll slowly erode the bank’s performance over time. Top talent at the mid levels will continue filing out so the bank wont be able to develop and promote from within. They’ll then need to overpay to bring in external MDs, you can only do that for so long.
Unfortunately I think the bank is slowly on the decline. The #3 in total fees is partially obscured by the mass hiring from MDs the last few years; revenue per head is very low right now.
A lot of strong seniors left over the past few years as well - particularly in FSG, C&R, and LF.
I think the bank will continue to look more and more like a factory, with mass recycling of MDs eating up most of the bonus pool, and crap pay for juniors carrying out tasks in assembly line fashion. Is this a sustainable way to run a business… maybe? But I won’t be around to see it.
Have you seen the breakdown of fees for them? It is all capital markets and as secondary bookrunners. They always complain they are terrible at M&A and this is why.
Such a sharp U-turn in BofA's reputation as a solid BB with usually above-average bonuses. In mid-2010s BofAML was expected to find its way into the likes of JPM-GS-MS but now compensation and M&A pipeline wise they're way below that tier. Even outside IB they are outstripped by JPM whose market cap is now more than double that of BofA. Hard to understand how Moynihan is praised as a successful CEO after all these accumulating debacles.
They just don’t value the IB business and are more focused on consumer banking / “Main Street”
Theyre the “PNC” of BBs
BofA should look at JPM as an aspirational peer. Similar to BofA, JPM is primarily a consumer banking business and their IB arm makes up a small percentage of firm revenue (let’s call it 10%).
The difference is, JPM was able to grow the consumer business while also remaining operationally efficient on the IB side. JP treats consumer vs IB as totally separate business units and employ different business models for both. As in, they treat their IB much more aggressively and like an actual investment bank - they cull underperformers, they’re agile, and aggressively pursue opportunities to win business (are a bit more risk-on vs BofA). This allows them to pay above market, retain talent, and promote & develop from within.
The problem with BofA is they never adjusted their IB strategy after the Covid era hiring boom. They apply the same principles that work in corporate banking to IB, mainly they refuse to fire bad actors in the name of preserving their image. Obviously that is not the proper way to run an investment bank, as it’s an up or out model where you need to cull in order to remain efficient, keep pay competitive, and evenly allocate work. In my view, despite being a small portion of revenue, IB is still a significant piece of the business that should have its own distinct strategy. Why even keep it around otherwise?
.
IB is over boys, its dying
years of forced DEI hiring, the financial crisis, and clients getting smart and realizing they dont need bankers at the fee levels of the yesteryear have basically destroyed a once great industry
and they can get away with low comp now due to "democratization of knowledge" where every non target joke kid at state U will bend over backwards to recite some memorized 3 statement IB questions at a moments notice to "get his foot in the door" despite firms paying basically big 4 accounting bonuses now.
this would end in a heartbeat if people STOPPED recruiting at these firms.
.
I understand the sentiment but my bank paid me 600-650 for my VP2/3 years in 22/23. The flipside is probably most juniors would take BAML over mine (RBC) for the brand name so it feels like you kind of have to pick a group / bank on either a career basis (in which case 'prestige' doesn't drive your decision much beyond the ability to win business as a senior) or take the monetary hit and churn out to another industry/PE, leveraging the better brand for a better outcome.
Most non-DEI/non-nepo hires at RBC would take BofA over RBC. Source: I work at RBC and have been absolutely shafted the last few years in comp and have discussed this ad naseum with 90% of people inside the bank.
I have been at BofA longer than I care to admit. And way longer than I should have.
For all of you that (unfortunately) work here, dust off your résumés and recruit elsewhere. This year the market should hopefully improve.
For all of you that are looking to break into the industry, I genuinely think you can get great experience and work on very interesting stuff at BofA. So by all means don't feel discouraged. But get out as soon as you can and go collect the checks you deserve.
I don't see this place getting any better any time soon. They need a big overhaul and basically a change of management and mentality.
The pay gap only gets worse the further along you stay. Directors getting paid in the 500s, maybe low 600s is absurd. And I'm not talking about people who have no idea what they are doing. Compound that gap with Street for 2-4 years and you are talking some serious dough.
Good luck to us all.
ASO3
coverage group with deal flow
192k bonus before sharing success; ee
Giant dispersion between top bucket and mid to mid-low (me/mm) bucket. Very rough for anyone improperly categorized as mid bucket
MM got hit very hard. Heard 50% of associates received MM and there were some solid ones who definitely shouldn’t be classified there that received like $50k
In 2019 an EE ASO3 got paid $430k (total comp). Even ignoring the impact of inflation, it's bad for ASOs too. It just gets progressively worse.
And don't fall for the delta total comp vs. prior year that they love to reference. That's only really applicable to MDs. If you're working your way up the chain, you should definitely have a raise (aside for really abnormal years).
Edit: clarified number is for total comp.
Have heard from friends still in banking that their VP laterals from BoA have been particularly bad. It is going to become interesting as it becomes more widespread at other banks.
What goes on in coverage there? Do the product groups (M&A) handle all of the heavy lifting?
You guys should leave though, that comp is bad
M&A handles the modeling & process stuff on live deals but that’s consistent with most of the BBs. The issue is BofA doesn’t fire anyone so a lot of braindead people who shouldn’t be in banking hang around to VP then get pushed out & lateral. They’re of course not all bad but there’s a significant chunk that should not be in banking.
vp2 - coverage - e/m
275k base + 140k bonus
wow lol that sucks
Giving ranges for privacy. VP3 promoted to D1. 550-575 all in. With the salary bump I’ll then be around 625-650. Feels like this is a respectable outcome for BofA, but still lower than street averages which is frustrating.
Man BofA really fumbled the bag the past few years. They have a strong brand and I remember they were well on their way towards competing with the top dogs during the 2016-2019ish period. They made some boneheaded operational decisions the past few years for whatever reason.
Coverage or product?
respectable outcome compared to how shit they paid in the last two years. completely spit in your face if you compare how they paid vp3s when they paid street. should be getting almost 100k more friend.
.
Cap markets?
Anyone have GCIB enterprise credit bonuses?
Aren’t these a pretty predictable % for bonus target? I would assume less than 40% for VP and lower
- Assoc 3 NY promoted to VP1
- Busy product group
- $125k bonus, $350 TC
- EM rating (upper middle bucket)
Not ideal. I stayed for the promotion and thought last year may have been an aberration given the market. But it’s now clear the bank plans to use these unacceptable bonuses as standard going forward. It was my group’s 2nd best year ever in terms of fees, and the bank’s performance overall is back to long term averages. Pay has not been adjusted upward to reflect that.
BofA has a strong brand and some good things going for it, but you leave a ton of money on the table by staying at the mid levels in the long run. Anyone outside of analyst and MD does not get paid market value at this bank. The delta is material.
BofA clearly does not care, or is not capable of, paying its employees to match street, so I expect it to continue. I don’t think the bank is coming back anytime soon. As someone mentioned the bank needs a big overhaul in terms of mentality, management, etc. There are some very clear operational issues at the bank that need to be addressed. Listing out a few below to raise awareness.
- Lots of people say BofA does not care about its investment bank. I don’t totally agree with this statement. The bank has made efforts to grow its footprint in IB the past few years - the problem is the execution has been very poor. In order to grow effectively, banks need to be careful about who they hire and bring in MDs of high quality. You can’t just funnel in all of the morons from coverage into a new group and call it EGRC. The bank sacrificed quality and instead focused on putting butts in seats and plug & play. Maybe the bank views this as a viable strategy, I’ve seen the argument that the large banks’ successes are moreso due to the brand and balance sheet. But, as a mid level interested in a career IB I do not want to be at a place that does not care about my development and views me as a butt in a seat.
- This poor growth execution of course drags down overall efficiency, since revenue per MD declines, and as a result there is less bonus money to spread around. This frustrates the employees, particularly those that have pulled their weight, so they lateral somewhere where they get paid. This causes good performers to leave and bad performers to stay (since they lack attractiveness on the open market), hollowing out the talent pipeline.
- The bank refuses to fire when the situation calls for it. Almost every bank overhired in their Tech and C&R groups in the 2021 period, and almost every bank backtracked and laid off the weakest swimmers a few years later. BofA is the only bank that did not do this, and now these teams have a million associates with little to no deal reps. They won’t get fired and they also won’t leave (because they can’t), and they’re not getting paid. Not a good recipe for a well functioning team.
- The bank is extremely risk averse to the point that it’s painful. I’m sure IB folks at every bank thinks they should be more risk-on but BofA is on another level. I think a big driver of this was how badly the bank got burned in the 2022ish period with Twitter, etc. This is especially bad news for BofA because one of their key competitive advantages is their mammoth balance sheet and ability to parlay that into advisory mandates etc, and right now it’s not being utilized.
- Due to the artificial bloat, the bank has become painfully bureaucratic and no longer supports internal mobility as a way to shuffle the best talent around at the firm. This further reinforces the lack of both group wide efficiency and lack of employee development.
Good news is other banks are hiring. The burden is on us to lateral - you can go to almost any other bank - more prestigious, less prestigious, BB, MM, boutique, doesn’t matter… and get paid more and likely have an uptick in WLB depending on group. Go get what you deserve.
They’ll support internal mobility to strategy!
They will also support an internal move to EGRC. Judging by the quality of bankers in EGRC you don't even need a pulse to move there. Seems most of that team just collects cash and can't really do anything except beg me for my group's slides to copy and paste. Even the higher level bankers in that group seem to be in over their heads. I don't know where they found some of them but it is not uncommon to see senior bankers there that came from random backgrounds with zero investment banking experience so no clue on how to do basic tasks or spell M&A.
As an associate 3 with an EM rating, $125K bonus is just unacceptable (prior COVID, associate 1 EMs used to get this kind of bonus) - not sure what BofA is thinking - as soon as the market bounces, we will likely see an exodus from the firm.
How does the rating work? From what I understand, E/E is top bucket, E/M and M/E is middle and M/M is bottom. How is there nothing below M/M? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
EE is top bucket, very few people . EM is lower top but still top. ME is upper middle. MM is bottom, and lower middle. MM is 50-60% of people in bad years
There is a rating below MM. it is not required to be used. Usually given to those on performance management plans
BofA rating system is a joke - typically 1 person in each group given EE. Just a way for them not pay people
10% of people get EE (top bucket), although it feels like less than that for some reason. The next 40% get either EM or ME - these ratings are grouped together this year but EM pays slightly better than ME. That’s the top half.
The bottom 50% gets some variation of MM. I think there’s MM+, MM, and MM- etc. Any variant of those means you should look to leave and likely are getting close to $0 bonus.
There were a higher proportion of MMs the past couple years, I think it used to only be the bottom 25% or so received MM prior to Covid when the GCIB franchise was performing better.
I didn't realize there's a pay discrepancy between EM and ME... I've been self-rating ME every time. Rip.
Associate 2 IBK coverage
$200k ->$225k salary
$100k bonus (70% cash, 30% stock)
EM Rating
Another below-market year. No reason to stick around and find out if next year will be any different. Too bad too, because I do like working here, but the juice is not worth the squeeze.
Are the bad numbers true for London too?
of course. us bankers get paid better take whatever garbage you see here and discount by about 10% for an idea on london comp.
10%? Make it at least 25% bro.
Just gotta do whatever is in your control. Aka get the F out
Holy shit these are terrible
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