There have been numerous renditions of an investment banker day in the life, on WSO, youtube, Reddit*, etc, but I was wondering if anyone has seen / can write one for corporate banking because I'm on the fence about this role and would like to get a better understanding of things (without the vagueness/sugarcoating you may get thru a networking-like conversation).
Specifically, I'm curious about:
- To what extent the role involves client prospecting? I heard CB directs clients to other functions like ECM/DCM/M&A/LevFin etc but don't those teams have their own MDs out getting clients? Therefore this aspect of the job seems rare (yet would be one of the main reasons I'd want to move into CB)
- To what extent do analysts get to help out with relationship management? Is it true that vs IB, you get to start interacting with the external parties earlier, and in such a way where you have more responsibility (vs just listening on a call or passing through someone else's questions).
- The hours seem better than IB but there are still ranges that reach up to ~9pm on the daily. What is your experience with the hours (pref. Canada) and are there mid-day periods of calm like in IB when waiting on an MD? (e.g. 8am-10pm is a lot more palatable if there are two coffee runs and maybe even a quick gym break in between)
- How does the technical knowledge - sale skills mix compare and contrast from CB to S&T sales? I'm looking for a role that is primarily sales and relationship oriented, BUT still requires technical knowledge to "keep me sharp". I feel very "unsafe" in my career with a 100% sales based role.
- Does the FRM designation have any impact in this role? I will continue working on the CFA designation, but I also heard that with the FRM you may be allowed to work on some bigger deals and maaaaybe even help out with DCM in certain cases where the team is small?
*I'm not allowed links but I'm referring to the good day / bad day on r/FinancialCareers from a few months ago, it had great detail.
Bump interested as well. Are you interviewing for the Metal & Mining CB posting in Toronto rn?
Lol no I'm just thinking ahead, but the recent flurry of postings is what caught my eye.
bump
I know this post is 3 years old, but happy to comment here and provide insight on what the day-to-day looks like for a CB analyst, as I myself am one. For additional context, I work at a non-BB European BS bank based in the US. Apologies in advance for the length
Since I don't work at a BB, especially an American BB, there's definitely prospecting and more of a sense that we have to "fight" for the business we get, as opposed to being at a JPMC or BAML, where they automatically get business because of their strength and brand name. Ultimately, what business the client allocates to you depends what tier you are in within the client's RCF. The entire relationship is underpinned by your bank's capital deployment to the client, and everything else follows that. From the client perspective, we are the face of the bank and I'll give examples of what prospecting looks like. As an analyst, I may notice on factset the client has an upcoming maturity wall. My MD and I reached out to the client, and set a DCM meeting. I help consolidate the materials for the meeting (usually a few relationship review slides prepped by me + DCM pages). Once in front of the client, the DCM MD/D/VP will give a market update + their opinions. This same process repeats for all other bank products (trade solutions, ECM, acquisition finance, treasury, etc.). A product MD will never directly reach out to the client without prior blessing from my CB MD or without us being cc'd/present. CB ultimately owns the relationship and is responsible for maintaining it and provide exceptional service, so when IB events come up, the client thinks of us.
Client interaction: from a junior perspective, the client exposure you get in CB is unmatched anywhere else in the bank. As an analyst I've travelled with my MD/D, led calls (albeit tracker calls), and have been encouraged to build relationships with the junior treasury staff (thinking is they will become senior staff when I move up to MD). I also almost had the opportunity to take a client out to a basketball game, but the associate ended up being sent. If you love being in front of clients, CB is for you.
Hours: definitely better, worked 1 or 2 weekends during 2023, and one all-nighter because of a live acquisition finance deal where we were lead. I went home at 7pm, but my boss was out by 4-5ish, so definitely could have gone home earlier. I have the ability to take vacations and fully disconnect, and as have my seniors.
Technical knowledge: CB, like IB is sectorized, so understanding your sector and where your clients fit in is paramount. Keeping abreast of current events. Understanding credit, ratios, reading financial statements etc. Having a good understanding of bank products and when they would be appropriate (Quote: CB bankers are a jack of all trades, master of none).
I also want to add, if CB is something you’re interested in , considering targeting the strong foreign banks as well (HSBC, BNPP, Scotia) because the line between CB and IB is blurred and you get to work on some cool stuff, as opposed to like a JPMC, BAML or WF where theres a very clear church and state separation between IB/CB
I hope this was helpful, and happy to answer any other questions. I really enjoy CB, there's a lot of admin which sucks, but once you hit VP life is great, you travel a lot and you make good money, definitely at a discount to IB, but you have better wlb.
Want to clarify on hours. On a typical day I go home at 7pm, very rare weekend work. One all nighter in all of 2023, worked maybe two weekends last year
Good response. Will say that at JPM, Citi, BoFa, or Wells you wont be interacting with clients much as an analyst and will strictly be on the portfolio management side for the most part. You’ll spend the entire day in Microsoft Word with a little dash of modeling lol
That’s what I’ve heard hence why I believe being at a foreign balance sheet bank with a “smaller” US presence would be better if you’re looking for maximum client interaction and the blurred line between IB/CB I described
Word - for editing draft credit agreeements or
Curious on the travel aspect: are these daytrips like in IB or overnights like in consulting?
They will be day trips unless no flight out the same day is available, then it will be overnight. But for the analysts it’s gonna most likely be a day trip
Hey, thanks for the response. Was just wondering what hours and maybe a range of comp looked like at the VP/D/MD levels. If I’m trying to maximize comp but still work in CB, would it make sense to be at one of the big US BBs (eg Citi, JPM, BofA)?
VP base is 175-200
D is 250+ 100% bonus max
MD is 300+ 100% bonus max
Idk hours tbh but a lot of travel
Thanks for the update lol, forgot I posted this but I'm once again toying with the idea lmao.
One thing I realized w my current/new job that makes me want to scratch this plan is, the way bank loans work they are too non-standardized and the day to day is too Word/Excel heavy for me, even though I love the social interaction aspect of CB. I come from MBS-type work where I was mostly on Bloomberg and SQL. Recently ended up in a role that gets more low level into each loan (this is why I've been thinking, because we are basically the CB clients, but my role pays less than CB for same hours), and I think I might like something more high level/strategic/publicly traded than CB. (jokingly: I want to work with only numbers, not PDFs of credit agreements) What are your thoughts.
Can’t stress foreign banks enough if you want any type of IB exposure without the hours. Most of them are under a CIB umbrella so you’ll be able to be a part of M&A financing whether that be through a term loan or a bridge loan or a bond issuance ect in addition to your regular refinancing and internal pitches to management to enter into revolvers. Definitely more fun than CB at a BB in my opinion which would be more of a lending management/credit risk role rather than a marketing/execution role. Also, hours are typically much lighter than IB even at these CIB banks. You will see a haircut on comp though, but many would say the WLB makes up for that.
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