Done almost two years at a BB in the Industrials Credit Risk group for the Investment Bank - got an offer at RBC Corp Banking. Wondering what has better exit ops after - stay another year at BB or do another 2-3 at RBC? Some pros and cons below for reference.
BB Credit Risk
- Pro: Lead deals
- Pro: BB name brand
- Pro: Network internally
- Con: Mostly IG/ or BB rated clients
- Con: $$$ as it is middle office
RBC Corporate Banking
- Pro: Front office role
- Pro: $$$
- Pro: More exposure to leveraged deals
- Con: Rarely a lead bank
- Con: Non BB
I’ve been a Relationship Associate for Institutional Clients for 4 years, and now I’m a Credit Risk Associate for TMT and Energy. Both I’ve done in BB firms.
Major Pros of Front-Office Work: 1.) Faster promotion as long as you rake in the clients and revenues/loans/deals 2.) Profit-sharing/performance bonuses are larger 3.) Exposure to different deals and even different products
Cons: 1.) Client interface can get too overwhelming. Expect to be contacted even on weekends. 2.) Can be a pro, but you’ll have to multitask and be very hands-on 3.) Expect to take responsibility for every screw-up that occurs at any part of the deal/transaction, even if it’s not your fault, per se. That’s the price of being the face of the bank.
If you’re going for a BBB to RBC, though, expect your client base and probably loan portf/deposit port to be smaller. I’d say less sophisticated deals and more trade-related, like omnibus lines, typical term loans, supply chain financing, receivables discounting, and the like.
Give it a try, though, as front office exposure is definitely more eye-catching on CVs, at least based on my experience.
What is your goal?
IBD? Research? Debt fund? Industry? Other? MBA? Don't know?
Likely a debt fund, but haven't ruled out PE/VC, just know those will be more difficult given primarily credit background thus far.
I would try and aggressively try and lateral to a MM bank for M&A. You could also try and lateral to your firm's industrials IBD team. I tried this transition and failed but saw other succeed. You may have to speak to HR and start as a grad again (probably worth it long term IMO).
Debt fund, PE & VC would be attainable from there and many others.
I've seen someone go from corp banking to an infrastructure fund, but I don't believe it would be harder to do it directly from IB credit. In my experience, IB credit is roughly equivalent to corp banking in a generalised sense, maybe slight edge to credit.
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