How strong is HSBC in London and Europe are they MM (from people who actually work in Banking)

I would like to preface this by saying this isn't an attack on prospects but a lot of people on this site who haven't left the continental USA or finished college give a lot of bad advice regarding International banks so I would prefer if someone with industry experience chimes in.

I have a chance of moving from NYC to London since a contact of mine in HSBC gave me a heads up but I can't seem to find any recent information on their strengths in London and Europe and people on this website call them a and even Rothschild no name boutiques which is kinda laughable. 

I see them hovering on league tables hovering around the middle 10 but due to their size they are still quite a large bank. Would they qualify as MM? Rothschild has been called one of the strongest banks in Europe so its possible that a bank with little presence in the US can be quite strong in Europe. 

Also can anyone comment on their culture

11 Comments
 

Rothschild EU is significantly better than HSBC EU. Completely different levels in terms of prestige, dealflow, etc.Hear from friends that its pretty dogshit in terms of dealflow, but I mean beggars cant be choosers so take it and try to lateral if its your only gig.Semi-related but Met some pretty smart dudes on their CB stuff tho. (Maybe applies to DCM and levfin) Decent credit exits.

 

HSBC's dealflow in Europe being dogshit isn't true. I've heard similar stuff about their DCM and credit stuff too that their quite strong there with decent exits to credit funds. Any word on culture?

Edit: Removed unnecessary verbiage and toned down harshness

 

I guess my source for dealflow being bad wasnt too valid, so I guess take what I said with a grain of salt.No too sure on culture in IB but CB culture seems pretty decent from those ive talked to. Ig I may have been thinking NA dealflow

 
Most Helpful

A few thoughts:

  • the key asset of HSBC is their lending. Starts at commercial lending, up to the biggest companies. Basically every company is a client, which opens doors.
  • levfin is good in Europe, consistently takes lead left on deals
  • solid sponsor coverage due to B/S, which some teams leverage into real M&A roles. Think co-advisory on multi-bn sell sides
  • in ECM, they’ve hired a bunch of people (from DB notably) with aim to get gloco roles, and it has worked on sizeable deals.
  • one of the downsides is that corporate banking doesn’t seem to be fully separated, so the eector teams end up managing a lot of the CB process (including internal credit memos for low profile things). Not the best part of the job, but still a few things worth learning.
  • they have been hiring a lot out of DB in last few years, and that’s not to do “trash tier” deals….

As an analyst, is it the sexyest place? Maybe not, but there are some good quality people around, both in product and sector teams. (For example One of the sector team heads is a former GS partner, highly effective even if the team works hard). You’ll do good levfin deals, and most likely sponsor M&a on buy and sell side.

Exits? Probably not tier 1 funds, but I have seen good people get really good PE jobs. Also, good options to lateral after some time.

If you have choice between JPM and HBSC, I wouldn’t go for HSBC, but it is a solid place to start a career, learn, build a deal sheet, and have some optionality.

 

Would god for HSBC. Always good to have a (stronger) name on your CV. Plus, hsbc still has a good deal flow. Torch doesn’t pay that well and is not that well known.

 

Iste unde consequatur qui amet. Corporis nemo quia quo voluptates. Et quaerat odio magni ab nulla distinctio consectetur.

Voluptatibus labore vel distinctio eum officia aut voluptas et. Dolor dolores est vero ea mollitia quia doloribus. Optio dolores ex assumenda autem tempora magnam molestiae. Aut id vero excepturi aut. Cum et quae magnam quia dolorem. Eos reprehenderit consequatur natus sed numquam.

Ea voluptatem praesentium sint et provident optio. Eveniet voluptatem assumenda consectetur odit temporibus non. Totam amet aut molestiae optio enim vel harum. Aperiam exercitationem recusandae ea fugiat dolor iste tempora. Corporis repellat autem dolores laborum qui veritatis earum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”