IBD = Investment Banking Division

This may be a bit petty, but it's been grinding my gears for a while. Kids - The acronym "IBD" stands for "Investment Banking Division". As in - the division of a bank that performs investment banking activities. This includes things like M&A, capital raising, restructuring, etc. You can find this definition in the WSO FAQ.

Thus the sentence "I'm interviewing for a job in the IBD at JPM" is just fine and makes sense.

Similarly, the statement "I want a career in IBD" is wrong and makes you sound like a retard - say it out loud. The phrase you are searching for is "investment banking". As in - "I want a career in investment banking (IB)". Get your terminology right, because when you write sentences like "What makes IBD (read - investment banking division) a 100hr/week job?" you sound like a high school kid throwing out acronyms to sound cool.

24 Comments
 

There's some serious inflation going on in our little WSO banana economy...

(Yes, I recognize the inherent hypocrisy in this comment.)

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." - J. Paul Getty
 

it actually bugs me more when I don't see Goldman, Sachs & Co.

PS IBD at most banks is generically used. e.g. "She is joining IBD?" never heard it used with "the." Get used to it.

ideatingTotally agree. You know what else grinds my gears? When people don't refer to The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and instead use acronyms like GS - they just sound like a bunch of wannabes throwing out acronyms to be cool.
 
junkbondswapBalbasur, youre a clown. Ideating is making fun of the OP as the original post was retarded. Who fckin cares if people say IB or IBD.

sorry i shouldn't lower case GS god might smight with lightning form making fun of his apostles :(

 

Actually, I prefer that posters be as specific as possible. even by the strictest definition, IB ("investment banking") could refer to a variety of groups in ECM and DCM.

CaptK (OP), do you actually work in banking? If you worked at a BB, people would say "yeah he's in IBD." It's shorthand for a specific division.

 
Best Response
prospieActually, I prefer that posters be as specific as possible. even by the strictest definition, IB ("investment banking") could refer to a variety of groups in ECM and DCM.

CaptK (OP), do you actually work in banking? If you worked at a BB, people would say "yeah he's in IBD." It's shorthand for a specific division.

Yeah prospie, I did for two years before I moved to the buy side, that's what that star next to my name means. It seems you're agreeing with me, but I can't tell - IBD refers to the specific division in the bank, whereas IB refers to the field in general.
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 
CaptK
prospieActually, I prefer that posters be as specific as possible. even by the strictest definition, IB ("investment banking") could refer to a variety of groups in ECM and DCM.

CaptK (OP), do you actually work in banking? If you worked at a BB, people would say "yeah he's in IBD." It's shorthand for a specific division.

Yeah prospie, I did for two years before I moved to the buy side, that's what that star next to my name means. It seems you're agreeing with me, but I can't tell - IBD refers to the specific division in the bank, whereas IB refers to the field in general.

The aggregate amount of time/energy you spend reading the extra "D" when it is supposed to just be "IB" is (in my estimation) nowhere near the amount of time/energy you spent creating this thread and arguing your position.

In addition, this isn't a formal forum where everyone needs to write everything perfectly correct. I don't think its 'specific as possible' to call an MD a 'baller' or a 'rainmaker' (you would never call them this to their face) but for the purposes of this forum its all fine.

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 

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