Small bank in NYC vs Large bank in SF
Hi, I'm just looking for some advice and perspective here on SA roles.
I got an offer with a smaller Japanese bank in NYC and one with a large bulge bracket in SF.
I'd really prefer to be in NYC and am interested in the coverage group. However, I know that the bulge bracket bank has an overall better name and image, which may be more helpful down the line. Would it be difficult to transfer from SF to NYC?
Does anyone have any insights on the summer analyst programs in both of these groups? How is the deal flow and culture?
Any advice would be appreciated.
When did the Citi process occur?
bump
Third week of september
If it wasn't for your interest in green tech, I would say Citi tech SF easily. Exits have been pretty good recently, and generally decent culture. Software is probably the best vertical there. If you want to stay in the green space (including post-banking), then Nomura makes sense, although the culture is reportedly pretty terrible because of the senior bankers coupled with really brutally long hours. Strong deal flow.
Does the fact that it's in SF instead of NYC make it harder to find exits or additional opportunities? My end goal would be to be in NYC.
Greentech is brutal and not what it was pre nomura. Go citi.
You are right in a way, from everything that I hear from my friends there, Greentech is on a much better footing since merging with Nomura. The renewables / infra space is red hot at the moment and Greentech is quite successful, going from strength to strength. If this is you passion / interest, go with Greentech.
To offer another perspective - I'm at a BB's Power / Utilities / NatRes / Energy group (we work very closely with Greentech) and have a close friend there. Actually heard that the culture at the bank is actually pretty good. There's zero face time culture with a lot of junior bankers, even first year analysts leaving around 6 or 7 and going back home before seniors. There's a big focus within the group where the seniors want their bankers to stay and become homegrown MDs, so a lot of improvements have been made to facilitate that. Apparently they hired a bunch of laterals / new joiners to build up the junior ranks and share more workload. Also heard that the whole Greentech, Industrials and Infra group went to Oceanside, San Diego this summer for a three day all-paid retreat. Was super jealous to see my friend's insta story because which other bank does that???
We pitch against Greentech loads of times and have co-advised with them before too, and even though they are a competitor we admit that the bankers over there are quite sharp and definitely come in with recommendations that we don't think of. If you're worried about brand name, Greentech, even if its part of Nomura, is very well respected within the space, which translates into impressive exits for their bankers. Also heard from friends at EVR and JPM that Greentech poached their MDs (Two MDs and a VP from EVR to lead ocean & air transportation / sustainable industrials and one veteran 15-year environmental services MD from JPM). The fact that these guys left their respective platforms to join Greentech speaks volumes to me because of how respected they are in their fields.
If you're passionate about tech, then definitely go to Citi Tech SF. Have 2 friends there who left to PE recently and both said great things about their analyst program there. On the other hand, if you want to stay in NY and are interested in clean tech, then Greentech is a great place to be.
Thanks for this comment! Just curious, where did you learn that analysts go home at 6 or 7? I’ve read elsewhere that it’s super sweaty and even the interns stay up till 1 or 2am sometimes.
Also do you have any idea where analysts normally exit to or do after?
My friend is in the group and they told me people usually just grab the free dinner and go back home around 6/7. Obviously if you're in a live process or prefer working in the office people stay longer but apparently no one cares if you leave early as long as you get work done. Greentech used to be pretty sweaty during COVID due to combinations of being understaffed + heavy deal flow, but with a lot of junior hires recently the hours seem to have gotten better.
In terms of exits, I just did a quick LinkedIn search to confirm and you can do the same. For buyside, people went to GIP, MIRA, Carlyle, Warburg, Ares, Quantum, DE Shaw, GS AM, BlackRock, GIC, Generate, Activate, Softbank. Laterals have been to Centerview and EVR. Non-finance exits to places like Google, Tesla, Stem too.
If you're still stuck deciding, I would highly recommend you speak to current bankers/past interns since they are the best resource in giving you the most accurate picture of what the group is like. A lot of people here including myself have only heard of things from others, so we're probably not the best reference point. If you look up people who are/used to work at Greentech (and Citi Tech SF too!) and reach out to them, I'm sure some of them would be happy to speak with you about their experience and give you a real, accurate picture of the group.
L
Thank you, Nomura Greentech Analyst. Very cool!
agree - fucking hilarious since most of their analyst class laterals out at 6 months to other banks
Take Citi SF and suck it up for a year and then internally lateral to their NY office. That way you get an exponentially better brand name and deal experience and still get to be in NYC
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