19 Comments
 

My friend's parents asked the same question when he got an offer. Although, hes an international student so they had an excuse.

 
Best Response

I hope it's not a joke because you certainly don't need to know German at Credit Suisse or UBS. You don't need to know how to speak English with a British accept at Rothschild, Barclays Capital, RBS, or HSBC. (Is Lazard British??? somebody confirm).

DB's investment banking position in the US just functions like the Goldmans the Morgans and the Lehmans. It is seentially DB USA Inc.

I mean if you are working in Germany you might need to know German.

The word I know is working in Japan knowing Japanese is almost a must. Working in Singapore/HK knowing Chinese is a plus but there are plenty of people who can't speak a word of Mandarin.

 

Nah, but you need to have been in a frat, and have a thousand meaningless ECs, to work at Douche (pronounced doosh-uh) Bank.

Hope this helps.

 

But even there (in IB) they speak English in all their meetings, so maybe not. In fact someone told me there are a couple of Americans working in IB Frankfurt who can't speak German.

 

Suckermc, it's true that there are i-bankers working in Frankfurt, Germany who can't speak the language. However, they're finding it pretty hard to integrate. It's easier if you're some senior guy, but if you're a monkey, it can be pretty tough... Depends on the proverbial "culture", though...

 

Strictly speaking, no. You don't need to be able to speak German. I know several people at their London office who don't speak it.

However, being able to speak German will give you an edge, particularly if you are interested in their Europrean and German operations.

A lot of the big IBs and other prominant firms (e.g. PE firms) in Europe like to see candidates who are able to speak another modern European language.

 

Mollitia et qui et non aut labore. Incidunt possimus praesentium reiciendis nihil. Exercitationem doloremque repellendus quo ducimus a. Est tempora sapiente quae aut et ut minus. Consectetur ut quae blanditiis sed.

Eum iste qui vel fugiat et labore recusandae. Facilis excepturi reiciendis aspernatur maiores ipsam omnis aliquid.

Ducimus blanditiis et vero et dignissimos sit molestias. Rem quas voluptates delectus beatae beatae est. Aut laudantium porro at quo aut qui nihil.

Et quam accusantium debitis corporis. Quo ratione esse animi illo voluptatem. Quae porro nostrum officia est non odio laborum. Eum quod voluptatibus necessitatibus aut dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”