BofA vs Citi US
Thoughts on how these two stack up in terms of prestige, exits, overall experience and future expectations? Have seen some interesting things in the league tables as of late. Where would you take an offer from?
bofa
Go with Citi. They’re both closely ranked and Citi is choosing to invest in their IB (Vis, etc) while BofA is not. This means i) you’ll get paid more at Citi (excluding the analysts) and ii) you’ll be joining a bank on an upward trend.
BofA is clueless from a strategic standpoint right now. They’re mostly relying on their brand and massive headcount vs prioritizing individual talent.
Considering OP is probably asking regarding analyst positions, would disagree and say that comp anecdotally is higher at BofA and stronger exit opps at BofA -> PE vs. Citi
Also Citi IB culture is atrocious (although BofA's is not stellar haha)
It’s a toss up at the analyst level. BofA pays the median analyst ~5-10k more vs Citi so if you really care about that go for it.
The culture at BofA is worse because leadership doesn’t care about the investment bank. Tons of apathy where at Citi the bank has IB momentum, stock price is increasing etc.
Exits about the same.
Definitely Citi.
Ranked 4th in M&A fees in 2025, higher than BofA in M&A deal value in 2024 all the way back to 2018. Clear focus on IB under Fraser and Vis, whereas BofA's leadership are in shambles. Lots of high profile exits (e.g. Brunner to JPM, co-head who brought in the Google mandate this year) with no long term strategic vision.
Full 12 months out in a couple of weeks
I just can't believe how dominant GS was this year
Def BofA from a prestige / exits standpoint. But maybe not on the upward trend like Citi is.
One must be really delusional to choose Citi over BofA. The latter pays better in analyst level, offers better deal flow and exits, has a better building and miles better perks. Citi's egregious $25 dinner stipend is itself a reason to reject their offer.
Nothing about what you said is true other than the first statement (analyst pay), the Delta is ~$5k. BofA does not have better deal flow than Citi, debatable in the aggregate but certainly not better deal flow per capita. Exits are roughly the same. Anyone who has been in both offices knows citi’s is way newer/better/cleaner. BofA is near OBP so you have some decent food options, but the building interior is old.
Ahaha you missed BofA's $35 dinner stipend and 7pm Uber rides vs Citi's miserable $25 stipend and only 9pm Uber. Dealogic league tables speak for deal flow so I don't want to linger on it - it's obvious that BofA is beating Citi. Also Citi's current HQs on Greenwich were used to be Shearson Lehman HQ in 1990s, Citi was forced to move there only after recording huge losses in the GFC that pushed the company to divest most of its real estate holdings. BofA however built its own tower at arguably the best spot in Midtown and moved there in 2009.
Citi increased the dinner stipend to $35
When did they do this?
Personally I would always go with the personal fit when the gap is this small. To be considered here, is the trajectory. You wanna exit to PE? Maybe Bofa. You want to be a career banker? Definitely Citi. as the future outlook there seems way better at the moment.
All I know is BofA M&A is on a downturn
If you are going buyside, BofA because you’ll get paid more those years. Staying on as associate go Citi because the deal flow is a little better. They brought in rainmakers in every coverage group.
BofA…dees nutz in ya mouth…
If this is for SA, Citi is a no brainer due to how they pay interns hourly + 1.5x OT, effectively doubling the summer comp of peers.
Is it true Citi interns can get 50-60k?
60 is a stretch probably but mid-upper 40s definitely
in the most sweaty groups yes.
Did the math for a friend at WF SA which has the same 53$ an hour.
40 hours at 53 for 9 weeks is just over 19k.
If you’re working 80 hours average, you get 40 OT hours so 1.5 the 19k for 28.5k and 47.5k total. If you work over that, say in m&a or fig or industrials you can prob clear 50
interned at Citi last summer and knew interns that were clocking 100hr weeks on the regular
Absolutely do not go to bank of america over citi. Bank of america's position on that league table is because of a few mega deals they got lucky on and almost all of the mds that brought in deals are now gone because of how craptastic the bank has become. you will also have a very small chance of closing anything because there are too many bankers and not enough deals now.
Citi is committed from the top to growing IB so would likely be getting better deal flow. Both banks pay above street bonus for BB (higher than GS, MS).
BofA has a massive analyst class size though which probably means better hours (and strictly enforced due to previous unfortunate incidents). Citi will be sweaty given all the deal flor
BofA has much larger junior class sizes and more strict & stringent junior protections vs the other banks.
The funny part is they still somehow find a way to overwork them and have more junior deaths on the ledger.
which one tends to have a higher return offer rate?
As long as you’re not a bot Citi is yours to lose, source a few buddy’s over the years have interned there and all converted
I’m shocked that considering all the culture shit on posts anyone here is recommending BofA. Do people really think you are better positioned for the buy side from BoFA vs. Citi? Give me a break, you have a ton of opportunities from both. At that point it is about the candidate. Headhunters and Buyside folks are not making any decisions solely based on BoFA vs. Citi it’s like the same thing in their mind it’s about the candidate. Also the analyst bonus numbers are not reliable / not always indicative of the future. The only metric you should be using for this head to head decision: what people do I vibe with more / where am I best placed to get group I want or return offer. End of story
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