Hey all, I'm currently an analyst/associate in one of the international bulge brackets in Hong Kong/Singapore and have a general idea on how the banks are ranked in the respective regions but would like the hear what the rest of you think.
Just a quick note that this is just a space to express your opinions, so would be great to also let us know how you base your "ranking" by (i.e. work-life, all-in comps, prestige, deal flow etc.). Cheers, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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What’s your view? Thinking about doing a stint in HK and I’ve got no clue how the IB’s are perceived there
I'm of the opinion that HK rankings kinda reflect how the banks are perceived in the US? Usual suspects like GS/MS/JPM dominate, with GS being particularly strong in China (?). Have heard that it's slightly different in SG.
Would have to disagree a bit. Some banks like BAML and Barclays are strong in the US but not so much in Asia. On the contrary, CS, UBS, and HSBC are much stronger in Asia. Would also add that MS seems to be stronger than GS in China.
BAML is actually very strong in HK. Not sure about SG though.
IMO GS is much weaker than MS in China based on league table and alum connections
Do agree that some banks are stronger in apac (cs, ubs, hsbc), but I think tier 1 is still pretty clear. The best talents are still drawn to gs/ms/jpm.
Any other thoughts? Curious to hear more beyond GS/MS/JPM
Does the work experience of GS IBD in the Singapore office carry the same weight of prestige as working in the NY office of GS?
No, still great stints though
No, still great stints though
No, still great stints though
Heard CS is very strong in SG
Based on what I've heard from previous interns & various full-timers, the leaders in the field (in terms of deal flow) are MS/CS/Citi (GS has fallen off the top 3 after the entire 1MDB scandal).
Following that you would have JP/BAML/UBS, but not necessarily in that order as it kind of gets murky around here. These guys typically often do landmark deals every now and then.
CS is an exception in that they typically do smaller deals but have an insane deal volume - writing plenty of credit memos for some of their wealthy PB clients. Their team in SG is easily double the size of most of the other BBs.
Hope this helps.
How strong are EBs in Hong Kong like Moelis etc?
Currently an analyst in one of the BBs in SG I can say this is extremely accurate, although I would group JP with MS/CS/Citi as they definitely have a very solid SEA coverage team. The rest of the BBs (BAML/Barclays/UBS) have decent SEA presence, while DB and GS are probably the smallest two BBs here, with less than 20 bankers in Singapore. Other notable banks with decent presence are HSBC, Nomura and BNP Paribas.
For EBs, Evercore is pretty strong, probably comparable to the mid tier BBs? Lazard recently shut down their SEA M&A practice, while Rothschild has solid deal flow but mostly plays in the MM space.
BAML and Barclays aren't that big in Asia, particularly in SEA. Probably put them alongside DB and GS rather than above.
So MS/CS/Citi/KP on the top - can you break it down in terms of what they're strong in? For e.g I heard Citi and CS are very strong in RE and across the street CS had top fee wallet 2019 YTD.
In HK at least, MS>GS>JP=Citi>CSBAML>the rest of the BBs. EBs other than Rothschild seem to be struggling. Outside of this BB/EB framework, Chinese players (mostly CICC) are doing well too. Everything else you can disregard.
Most accurate among all
Spotted the Citi analyst.
Correction: MS = GS > JP > Citi CS BAML
Any comments on Nomura and HSBC in HK? Where are they in the rankings?
Poor deal flow but heard culture is much better than some of the industry leaders in the region.
HSBC's DCM business is the undisputed leader in HK... by far
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