How much do investment bankers in Europe get paid? Without talking about London of course...
I'm talking about Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Germany with it's many exchanges, ...
| +148 | ONLY THESE BANKS OR YOU STRUCK OUT | 38 | 13h |
| +111 | IB Energy Drink Tier List / Ranking | 73 | 1d |
| +61 | Firm Thinks I'm Lying About Offer | 19 | 16h |
| +53 | Indiana University Fraternity Pipelines | 32 | 13h |
| +51 | Feedback for internship first desk at IBD BB - personal fit, "don't be too confident" | 29 | 2d |
| +39 | Stay at Weak Dealflow Team or Lateral? | 12 | 21h |
| +36 | Rogo AI | 14 | 11h |
| +34 | Elite Boutique interview questions | 8 | 1d |
| +30 | Suspended for a Year | 11 | 14h |
| +23 | 1st Half 2026 (1H26) RX IB & RX Co. Rankings | 14 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
In Paris they get paid in croissant and cigarettes
Long story short - not much. In 2019, only 4,963 bankers in the EU/EEA made over 1 million euros ($1.12 million). That's across investment banking, asset management, and executive functions. By country:
While Europeans make less than Americans, using absolute numbers says nothing at all
The key metric would be per 1000 bankers or so, as that way you can compare
Can't provide specific numbers as it depends on AUM, reputation, management, etc.
But overall, for middle/lower middle market PE, Germany as benchmark, French ~100%, Benelux (Luxenbourg has very limited PE presence so an exception) 80%, Swiss shop >150%. Also more pan-europe funds in DE and FR and Swiss, while Benelux funds more local sourcing.
For VC, really bad comps in all EU continent shops, with terrible base salaries and carry distribution scheme...
IB folks in Europe get paid significantly more than the average income in their local region. While the "absolute highest" salaries are not as high as in, say, NYC. That won't explain anything about all the other benefits, job security, gov benefits, (..)
My highest salaries were in NYC, Frankfurt and London. After a decade, it's a wash. In some countries you may get a little less, but you win somewhere else.
Also, not every staffer in banking will command the highest income bracket, regardless of location. Just because one would work in NYC doesn't mean they suddenly move to the Upper East side.
Frankfurt: base salary for AN1 at the large boutiques (top MM + EB) and BB is between 80-95k € + 5-10k € Signing right now, Paris is similar as far as I know. Southern Europe (Italy, Spain) is lower, but mainly due to lower CoL
Surprising given that London is at £65-£75k (75-85k€) with higher COL. Perhaps higher bonuses? Also I presume banks in London don't need to pay very much to attract talent from the continent.
It is quite known in Germany that your savings rate is much higher in Frankfurt than in London - especially for Juniors. Becomes different at senior levels (better comp progression with higher bonuses) as taxes are also lower in the UK
Suscipit est vel ut consequatur et in. Quae qui laboriosam dolorem aliquam quod sint.
Aut error amet quidem libero ut sapiente autem. In ea natus tempora. Non praesentium iure dicta dolorem quae.
Reprehenderit sunt magni veniam similique placeat et. Odio officia voluptatem sint facilis quis fugiat et nesciunt. Voluptate omnis dolor esse dolor voluptas ipsam quos quia. Sunt iste tenetur et voluptatum non necessitatibus. Distinctio omnis quasi eos animi quibusdam quaerat et. Quod est maxime et voluptates voluptatem.
Repellat quisquam qui eos voluptatem expedita magni. Hic ut dolor sed ut nihil id. Sed quam qui explicabo facilis voluptatem omnis. Incidunt libero rerum dolor quod.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...