How Much Do Differences Between Top Banking Groups Actually Affect Exits?

Everyone here loves to micro-rank banking groups for exits. My question is, once you’re in a top BB or EB, do you generally have access to most of the same opportunities? If so, it seems like your opportunity set is determined largely by the platform, while actually converting those opportunities into offers comes down to the candidate’s preparation and interview performance. Is that a fair way to think about it, or do differences between the top groups (loosely defined here as those generally ranked S- through S+ on these forums) meaningfully change your exit opportunities?


 

5 Comments
 

Generally little difference if you’re at a top firm, what matters a lot is your actual deal exp and direct involvement, which obviously varies by group within your firm so yea it matters to a certain extent but not for the reasons you think. In any case if you have a brand name you’ll get interviews. 

Everyone will know GS TMT but besides that I don’t think any recruiters will know the difference between Rothschild consumer vs Lazard consumer vs Citi consumer. I certainly don’t. 

 
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Agree with the above comment. The only clarification I'd add is that deal experience does not mean closed deals (although we all love to close deals). If you backed the underbidder in a buyside process you went through virtually all the same motions as the analyst at the bank backing the winning bidder. Equally if your sellside fell over during the SPA negotiation you still know how to do a CIM, manage the Q&A, compare the NBO offers, etc.) I think a lot of junior bankers get more stressed about having "closed deals" on their CV than they need to

 

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