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Pretty confident they are both 85k base for first year. Maybe 30% bonus?
Can confirm Citi 85k base
A user in an older thread about Corp Banking comp mentioned that as of 2015, Citi is paying 85 base with a 25-40k bonus for 1st years
Do a search.. Loads of information about CIB corporate banking gigs on here.
85k base with 25-40k bonus sounds way too high for first year analyst. I will say 65k-75k, 5k signing bonus with 10k-20k annual bonus. Salary is pretty much the same across all cities as far as BB is concerned.
It's 85 + 5 + 20-25
Source: old coworker who's a 1st yr in CB at Citi
Can't post the link, but search "Corporate Banking Analyst Salary And Bonus" and you''ll find the thread from 2014 stating that comp. I do agree 40k sounds high, was just stating what I read from that thread and the user did mention it depends on tier. Can confirm Citi pays 85 base (have a friend there) and JPM does too fwiw. Bonus is around 30-40% (translating to ~ 25 to 34k) from other threads i've read regarding Corp. Banking pay. You'll find more threads regarding this by searching, hope that helps OP
Corporate banking pays the same base as IB but a smaller bonus - this has been the case at every bank I know.
This sounds about right. At least for the more junior levels. I reckon if you break it down to the hour the corp banking grads have a better deal.
commercial banking =/= corporate banking in a CIB org.
Wrong. Interned at a BB in S&T and a close friend worked in Corp Banking. Believe it or not CB, S&T, and IB all start out at $85k base. Sign on might have been lower. However, he mentioned bonus was 25% to 50% of base.
Have a couple of friends in BB corporate banking roles and they confirmed first years start off with $85K base and 25-30% bonus (consistent with my bank too)..not too shabby for a 9-6 gig
You sure it’s only 9-6? I was under the impression that CB can be 60-70 hours quite easy. I’m sure some lower deal flow groups are more 9-6ish tho
Currently a first year analyst in CB. Base is $85K as others have mentioned. Top bucket CB bonus is typically higher than a low IB bonus, which translates to a range of $30 - 50K. During busy times hours are almost the same as IB, but with fewer weekends and better predictability on project timelines which also means fewer all nighters. Anecdotally, the second year analysts I've asked have made closer to the $50K end of the spectrum.
Just accepted a CB position at a BB. Mind if I send you a PM with some questions regarding hours and such?
I think it could be helpful to others have the info listed in the thread, but if you have any questions that could be sensitive for whatever reason feel free to PM.
Sure, didn't know if you wanted to keep things private and such.
Thanks!
Standard caveat that I can only speak to my own experience.
Standard week is around 9AM - 8-9PM, so around 60 hours with some variance. During particularly slow seasons we leave around 6PM, while during busy times we'll leave around 11PM-2AM. Long hours are often a result of multiple longer-dated (1-2 week timeline) projects coinciding rather than an unexpected firedrill, so true all nighters are fairly rare since you have some control on scheduling. The real advantage in hours over IB is that we rarely work weekends (I have yet to work a Saturday and only a handful of Sundays)
Yes. CB probably works with the widest range of groups out of any division since your job is to service client needs with whatever product/team they need, but we work the most with IB by a fair margin. We all sit together, so if you were to step on the floor you would have no way of knowing who is in CB vs IB.
Direct promotes are definitely possible and the most preferred outcome from a senior perspective. Most of the seniors in my group have had experience in other divisions, but most particularly IB. If you perform well and have senior support, lateraling to IB is a definite possibility and probably fairly easy in my opinion since you'll have been cross-staffed with IB on deals and they'll know who you are. Keep in mind CIB analysts are treated as one class and go through the same training (versus CMO or S&T analysts) specifically because they're expected to work together.
Having said that, I can't imagine why any sane person would want to switch from CB to IB if they plan to stay in banking (versus jumping to buyside). The pay to work ratio is skewed heavily in favor of CB.
Pros:
* CB teams are way smaller than IB teams so you have less internal competition, fewer assholes, and better senior exposure.
Pay is pretty close and the work-life balance is hugely in your favor, especially as you move up. Like I said, a top CB bonus is higher than a mid-bottom IB bonus, and you'll probably work less and deal with less bullshit to get that same number.
CB work covers a broad range of corporate finance initiatives whereas IB has an episodic, narrow focus. The pro for this from an analyst perspective is that the work you're doing (typically some variation of cash flow/credit/capital return analysis) has usefulness/relevance to the client, even if it gets dull. You'll (hopefully, probably) never get bullshit assignments like compiling a 100 page pitch deck covering 50 different company profiles as potential acquisition targets that will never see the light of day as IB is notorious for.
A good chunk of CB seniors formerly worked in other groups within the bank but wanted a better work-life balance. In my experience, this dynamic seems to attract seniors who are reasonable human beings who'd prefer if their juniors also have a healthy work-life balance. This is very often not the case in IB, and the people you work with will make or break your experience far more than company prestige.
You'll go through your long hours and miserable moments together with your (CB and IB) classmates, and they will keep you sane
Cons:
If you want to jump to PE, being in CB will put you at a notable disadvantage considering how tough and well established the pipeline already is. I never had any interest in PE so I didn't care, but if that's a goal for you further down the line then IB is definitely a better platform to recruit from. Credit focused buyside roles like credit investing, mezz/debt funds, or non-"finance finance" roles like Corp Dev, Strategic Finance, etc are equally open to you.
IB typically runs the operating model while CB does the credit analysis, so you'll be at a disadvantage in that respect. If you're recruiting for buyside, you'll have to practice modeling on your own (this is true for IB analysts as well). Modeling isn't rocket science, but I do wish my role involved more deep diving into that.
As mentioned above, CB teams are a lot (as in 5-8x) smaller than IB teams. This makes it harder to find alumni and collect data points on how CB career trajectories typically evolve.
All your friends will think you work in Investment Banking or Commercial Banking no matter how many times you explain it as no one on this planet has heard of Corporate Banking apparently
What is the difference between Commercial and Corporate Banking? Sorry for the dumb question but the definitions are different depending on what bank you go to.
What were corporate banking bonuses looking like at the associate level this year?
Should absolutely be noted that the 85k base/20-25k bonus at year one only applies to some BB’s (and maybe Suntrust for some reason...). At Wells, BAML, and anything smaller, starting pay is 70k + 10-15% bonus. That first comp range is more applicable to first year associates at non-bb’s. Also, 60-70 hours is a little high. Would say it’s more like 45-60. But I’m also honest about hours, whereas some people like to overinflate for some reason.
Source: was an Analyst and Associate at Wells/BAML CB
New York office?
No, south east. I know NYC comp was a couple K higher, not much
This is spot on. Unless you’re bad at your job / overwork yourself for some dumb reason, CB hours are 50-60. Very rare exceptions where you’ll go north of 70 and definitely a handful of 35-45 hours sprinkled in.
Analyst levels at one of the better paying CB banks: AN1: 12k sign on, 80k base, $25-30k bonus AN2: 85k base, $30-40k bonus AN3: 90k base, ~$45k bonus (know someone who got $60k which was undeserving in my eyes)
Associate: A2A is common and a $40k sign on / 3 week sabbatical is given. $120k base for AS0 and $140k for AS1. Not sure of bonuses
I’m not sure how long this will continue as the pay structure just didn’t make sense in my eyes, but for the time being it’s a great gig for W/L balance and above average pay
Working at an international bank in CB, and we are 100% opposite. Our analyst level: $10k signing, $85k base, 20-30k bonus. Analyst 2: 90k base 25-40 (pre-covid) Analyst 3: $95k base $30-50k. Where we typically get screwed relative to other banks is Aso and up. That + the regulatory nonsense, credit nonsense, and busted internal processes/systems are what make me want to get out.
Hours are low 50-60 with summer/holidays/post holidays lulls. 70 when busy/overstaffed. 80-90 peak covid when every bank's CB turned into levfin and weekends became the norm for a month.
Hey, how to lateral opportunities into the IBD look like for people in corporate banking? Also, how was your interview process?
Also, no one has mentioned some of the mind numbing work that comes with CB. Particularly compliance bullshit (which is why I left) and dealing with incompetent cross sell departments if you’re doing sales.
Very true. CB is the glue and rubber bands of the many disconnected, misfitting, occasionally combative, and always territorial product groups that make up the machinery of a bank. Because of this, CB is left bag holding for shit other groups don't want to do, like answering to credit or KYC. The real work is also fairly basic once you've been done a few deals.
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