Currently at some other BB and we have a couple of ex-DB seniors who are well regarded and speak favorably about DB and its legacy. Curious to hear where did it stand back in the day/in its peak
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It was a great firm to join as a junior and was considered a coveted spot. Was never quite at a GS/MS level, but certainly in line with firms like Lehman, Merrill Lynch, JPM/Bear Stearns. I would argue that it was regarded as the EU version of Lehman... Bold & aggressive however unlike Lehman it managed to stay afloat
Lots of controversies but was seen as a top firm overall.
IMO it was the only European bank that could have potentially challenged (to a degree) top incumbent US IB firms, perhaps alongside CS in its "prime". Barclays was never a factor pre-Lehman and is ok at best post-Lehman, and UBS had a mixed performance in the Americas (they had a nice run with seniors like Moelis, Efron, etc running the show, but it was short-lived).
Agree with this take. DB and CS were the only BBs that could go h2h with top American BB firms. It also has to do with their agressive approach to take on mandates and leverage their balance sheet (contrast that to UBS, which has always been more conservative when it came to using its balance sheet).
Really liked Ryan Gosling as a DB guy in Big Short, that's for sure
lol
[ ]
He represents well the type of douche that works there
Back in the day, when you spotted a DB DB DB (deutsche banker’s deutsche bank duffle bag), heads would turn
what lol
Good old days with DB, what a time
As silly as it sounds, back when I was in college (2010-2014), they were the BB I most wanted to work for behind MS, mostly because of the office location (had daydreams of living in a studio in Brooklyn Heights and commuting one stop on the 2/3).
I was so young and filled with hope back then.
It definitely had an interesting culture in the past, from what I've heard (old school vibes). Still a good place to be at, especially compared to some of the other Euro banks that have either vanished (CS) or are struggling (UBS, Barclays to an extent)
DB may not have the same stature in the U.S. as it did in the early 2000s–2010s, but it’s still a well-recognized brand outside of finance and continues to be very highly regarded in markets like Europe and Asia. Take it with a grain of salt, but I rarely heard complaints from their juniors about culture or hours. Friends who formerly worked in their sponsors, LevFin or tech groups generally seem to have had positive experiences, and a couple even chose to stay on for A2A despite having PE offers—though this is based on a small sample. Also, given the recent incident involving a junior banker in their TMT group in NY does suggest things can vary by team.
Very aggressive, very smart. S&T side when they could still take prop risk on their massive balance sheet was something to see. Credit, rates and vol outside of the US was top tier.
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