Sauron's Nine BBs of Power: Who shall be the next ring-bearer?

Sauron distributed Nine BBs of Power to leaders of men, who became "mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old". They gained unending lifespans, and the ability to see things in worlds invisible to mortal men. But then a BB abandoned Credit Suisse, and fell off it's finger. Who shall bear it next?

1) Goldman Sachs

2) Morgan Stanley

3) JP Morgan

4) Bank of America

5) Citi

6) Barclays

7) Deutsche Bank

8) UBS

9) Wells Fargo/Jefferies/RBC?

16 Comments
 

Of course it has to be 9, what a ridiculous statement. What are the other three rings going to do? Float in a river and eventually corrupt some poor,innocent mm/boutique firm? Horrible. And they might be rings of power, but not pimp-level power, so I don't think anyone can have more than one. 9 rings, 9 firms. 

 

Since CS will probably own a good chunk of the spin-off (i read somewhere that CS first boston will still generate 14% of revenue) - wouldn’t it still hold BB status? Kinda like DB owning a good chunk of DWS (asset mgmt. unit) 

 

Nah, lol. You know how long it'll take for them to gain some semblance of a reputation back? They're going to need a lot more than just Michael Klein as CEO. Atm, it's a long shot that CS can even retain many of their existing customers due to their loss of B/S. Resources are going to be allocated for building their teams anew and paying for continued damage control.

 

This. The comp guarantees alone for key employees and new hires on the MD side will be crazy. Likely structured all cash with lower than market deferrals so they'll be largely hemorrhaging for quite some time until they get regular dealflow in. And starting that in this market is just so tough.. 

 

Get the joke, but I honestly think CS First Boston (which will probably pay thru the nose to get the trademark back for just "First Boston") will be a great opportunity for a lot of people. It's going to be more of a bigger Guggenheim or up-market Jefferies, and given the sponsor reach I believe it will compete with banks like mine on the independent/Boutique end of the spectrum. From the perspective of junior bankers, would argue CSFB will be more popular than CS, given the platform. 

As a more senior associate...to be candid...I am personally thinking this could be an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a rocketship (akin to joining PJT in 2015), if and when they start recruiting. 

 

Aut labore aut quis vel. Aut natus esse sed in repudiandae quis et. Quo laborum rerum consequatur aut. Facere facilis excepturi ipsum expedita.

Eveniet quae nisi ea nemo sed provident. Vitae accusantium est maiores fuga a hic ex. Vel ullam at quidem repudiandae quam autem quod.

Qui aut iste deleniti voluptas assumenda molestiae. Autem eligendi illo delectus qui. Quisquam molestiae sunt dolores maxime neque ipsam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”