15 Comments
 

MS - public finance usually translates to "investment banking services" (underwriting/M&A) for public tax-exempt entities. Probably much more relevant to pure IB than corporate banking would be.

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis - when I was dead broke man I couldn't picture this
 
Best Response

Citi CB is as close to IB as you can get. You are working (often, but probably not as a intern) with the investment banking teams. I know several from Citi CB transition to Citi IB either after the summer or after their first year.

Pub Fin is a different animal regardless of where you go. However since this is only for an internship, it can be argued that you can network your way from MS PubFin to a more traditional investment banking group.

Technical/skill set perspective as a summer intern, you probably will do the same work.

 
Whiskey5Citi CB is as close to IB as you can get. You are working (often, but probably not as a intern) with the investment banking teams. I know several from Citi CB transition to Citi IB either after the summer or after their first year.

Pub Fin is a different animal regardless of where you go. However since this is only for an internship, it can be argued that you can network your way from MS PubFin to a more traditional investment banking group.

Technical/skill set perspective as a summer intern, you probably will do the same work.

This

 

Although PF is considered by some banks to be IBD (i.e. a lot places literally name the group "Public Finance Investment Banking") and Corporate Banking is not technically IBD, consider this... In CB you will be working with same clients and industries as IBD and will have the opportunity to collaborate (and make contacts, network, etc) with LevFin, DCM, and industry coverage groups. In PF you will be catering to a much more specific clients and industries (municipalities, universities, other tax exempt entities) and begin to pigeonhole yourself if you stay for a long time. Neither are pure IBD thus the modeling and deals for both will be different than that of pure IBD, but the client exposure, industry knowledge, and corporate credit-focused skill-set gained from CB does have some valuable overlap with IBD coverage groups, LevFin, DCM, etc.

"Which job would have better exit ops (considering I stay in this position for a few years)?"

I know a few people who have followed these routes:

CB SA -> CB FT -> pure IBD -> PE, HF CB SA -> CB FT -> credit-focused HF CB SA -> CB FT -> Corp Fin, ER (both for an industry they had a lot exposure to during CB stint)

I have no idea what you would do if you want out of PF 3-5 years down the road and want to move to the corporate client side.

 

All of the above is true, but this is for an SA. Morgan Stanley has a better name and is kinda-sorta investment banking. Take that, network, and do FT recruiting this fall. Know people who SA'd in MS PF, moved to IB for full-time. In a vacuum, public finance is a better internship gig than commercial banking, and when you're interviewing senior year, it'll be viewed by resume reviewers as such.

 
triplectzAll of the above is true, but this is for an SA. Morgan Stanley has a better name and is kinda-sorta investment banking. Take that, network, and do FT recruiting this fall. Know people who SA'd in MS PF, moved to IB for full-time. In a vacuum, public finance is a better internship gig than commercial banking, and when you're interviewing senior year, it'll be viewed by resume reviewers as such.

This may have been true when the economy was doing well. Recent years... FT recruiting has been pretty much non-existent. Banks often give group specific offers without much tolerance for movement. I would take the safer bet and go for Citi CB.

 
Whiskey5
triplectzAll of the above is true, but this is for an SA. Morgan Stanley has a better name and is kinda-sorta investment banking. Take that, network, and do FT recruiting this fall. Know people who SA'd in MS PF, moved to IB for full-time. In a vacuum, public finance is a better internship gig than commercial banking, and when you're interviewing senior year, it'll be viewed by resume reviewers as such.

This may have been true when the economy was doing well. Recent years... FT recruiting has been pretty much non-existent. Banks often give group specific offers without much tolerance for movement. I would take the safer bet and go for Citi CB.

I second this... also, its not commercial banking, its corporate banking. So if OP ends up staying on for FT he will be getting solid deal exposure with syndications, etc for large corporate clients.

 

Quo sunt velit exercitationem. Qui modi eaque perspiciatis dolores aut impedit modi. Amet autem nostrum reiciendis repudiandae atque ratione.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”