What are the best Investment Banks in Paris? I know London is the mecca of IB's, but I'm interested in living in Paris.
I'm interested in getting my MBA and moving to Paris. Which Investment Banks have a stronghold in Paris La Defense? I did some research and these were the companies I found that have offices in La Defense, Paris - Nomura, Bryan Garnier & Co., Lazard, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, ING, Rothschild, Sycamore, Societe Generale SA, Clipperton, Bank of America Merill Lynch, Canaccord Genuity, BNP Paribas, Alexander Partners, AEC Partner/AEC Fintech, SGCIB, Banaca IMI, Degroot Petergain, Credit Agricole, Barclays, RBC, Jeffries, Natixis, Citi, etc.
To your original question (in the title, putting aside the location):
1) top tier international banks: Lazard ranks extremely well there, known to be a sweatshop but pays well. MS, Citi, JPM and Rothschild would also fit here. Not sure about GS or BAML but I'd guess they're not far.
2) top tier local banks: not considered BBs or huge by any measure internationally but compete locally with the banks in 1). these are Socgen, CA-CIB, BNP
3) 2nd tier: UBS, CS, BarCap, DB, Natixis, (even Nomura maybe?)
Disclaimer: I don't work in France, this is based on discussions with EU/Fr based colleagues, so others might have more insightful or more recent feedback.