HSBC v. Harris Williams v. BB corp banking

I have exploding offers from three different places, and I'm having trouble making a decision.

The offers are HSBC M&A in NYC, Citi/JPM/BAML corporate banking in NYC, and Harris Williams in Boston.

My thoughts were that an IB internship in NYC would be preferable, but I've heard from some people that the corporate banking role might lead to an easy internal lateral to the investment banking team, and that the position at HW is a better place to be.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

16 Comments
 
Best Response

If your ultimate goal is to end up in IB, I would think twice about taking the corporate banking role just to lateral. They see through that and it isn't as easy as you might think. It happens, but it's not super common. Not that there's anything wrote with corporate banking though, it's a solid career.

Between HW and HSBC, if you're looking to end up at a bigger/more presitigious bank, I would think HSBC would be the smarter move. They're not a top BB, but I think they've been growing their business lately, and M&A in New York at a name people recognize is still good. I don't know what their deal flow is, but I imagine they must be on some good deals out of Asia where their brand and business is really fucking strong. Better opportunities to work with, meet bankers at better banks and lateral if that's your thing.

HW is a middle market shop, and so the exposure will be a little different, and being in Boston can make it hard to network your way into a better NYC bank. If you want to end up in AM/MM PE though, and you like Boston, then by all means take HW. But they're a niche shop with a smaller niche brand, so know what you're getting yourself into.

 

If you'd prefer NYC, then I think you have to go HSBC. Worst case you go there with the intentions of lateraling over to a better shop ASAP, which is obviously easier to do in NYC than Boston. I also think being in M&A will give you broader exposure and allow you to keep more doors open for either lateraling or moving into PE. I've heard mixed reviews on HW&Co.'s Boston office and certainly would not plan on going commercial with the intentions of trying to switch functions.

 

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