I have read on multiple WSO threads, where they talk smack about BofA but dealogic puts BofA top 5 in deal value in YTD 2026 and 2025. Just wanted to understand why is that the case? Spoke to a couple of ANs and ASOs at BofA and they really sweat it out so IDK why the 'reputation'?
Also, as my username suggests, I am really trying to get to know the US markets better. Thanks.
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This forum shits on every single bank lol. I see that you've had some good chats with BofA but the biggest factor is they pay shit + M&A group handles the modeling.
thoughts on fig? heard they run their own modeling
They killed a veteran
I barely see anyone shitting on the other banks like that...
GS, JPM, MS. EVR, CV or even Citi... trashing is limited to UBS, BoFa & DB lmao
GS, JPM, EVR don't have m&a product group, also none of the names you listed pay as poorly as BofA
The massively overbloated MBA girlie aso is so real and so much panic to deal with.
They are leaking top bankers almost weekly to their rival banks from years of shitty pay and culture. Dealogic deal value means nothing because on almost all the big deals they do, they are just getting fake credit for being a lender or 2nd / 3rd seat on the advisor bench.
For all the hate BofA gets, most of its groups are reasonably strong with a few standouts (FSG, M&A, REGL), and the Analyst experience is good; it gets iffier at the mid-levels, which you can see in how bad Associate pay has been in recent years
FSG is not a strong group, everyone good has left
.
I left a few years ago so take what I say with a grain of salt.
To put it bluntly, the trade off between pay and hours worked & stress is worse at BofA vs almost every other bank. The fact they’re somewhat successful in the league tables rubs salt in the wound - why does everyone there get paid bottom of the street when management constantly brags about being top 3 in every product, geography, blah blah. Most bucket shops pay better than BofA does. The only people who get paid there are the top performing MDs, a lot of whom are approaching retirement, and the bank completely gutted its talent pipeline.
Culture is also not as strong as the bank claims. A green beret literally died while working there. There is a lot of “leading with fear” vs other banks and everyone is on edge because teams are so bloated and there’s not enough deal activity to go around. Might be a hot take but the fact the firm is “global” and hires tons of internationals is bad in a lot of ways because it provides an avenue for already psychopathic seniors to abuse their subordinates, who are trapped on a visa. A controversial take but a real one in my opinion.
There is undoubtedly a net outflow of talent there, which has been the case over the past 3-5 years. You can argue what exactly the root cause is (I think it’s the below market pay + bloat) but either way, it is happening. The bank values investment banking the least of all the large banks and only underwrites the cleanest businesses, etc. They also pay most of their groups in line with street, except for IBD. IB is viewed as a distribution mechanism for its large balance sheet.
The investment bank is not well run. They grew their middle market group to 300+ people without any sort of proven deal pipeline to sustain those heads. JPM, the strongest large bank in the middle market, has 150 employees so BofA should be that size max. Lots of bloat across coverage teams, particularly at the associate level. Not enough active talent management in my opinion.
On a more institutional level, BofA is in trouble with investors over low returns and profitability. There’s speculation that Moynihan’s time at the bank is ending. Stock price returns have lagged peers post COVID.
I’m sure every bank has their issues - the biggest one that drives the BofA hate is how badly the bank pays / treats its associates and up for the level of deal flow they supposedly have. It’s psychologically demoralizing.
The good things are - strong global brand, behemoth bank that’s well recognized everywhere, not terrible deal flow, decent option for analysts (pay is not as bad), some smart people left over from when the bank was doing the right things in the 2015-2021 period. Also funny enough, the lack of accountability was a pro at certain times. People not showing up to work, uneven workloads, bloat etc meant you could find pockets to hide when you needed to.
This is a pretty spot on response. I am still at the firm and this summarizes how I feel very accurately.I have been top ranked / EE each year and I have still probably been underpaid about $500k in total vs what I would consider “street” comp through my associate and early VP years. Even as a top performer you are paid under street. Folks in the middle of the pack and bottom bucket get treated horribly after the analyst level. VPs getting 50k bonuses, some associated getting like 25k. Not even bottom bucket either - middle bucket. Really gruesome stuff and super demoralizing, particularly when the bank overall performs well. This place stopped feeling like a two way street a long time ago and feels like I am in a very lopsided relationship.
Literally right after I posted this I opened LinkedIn to see that one of our Vice Chairs of M&A was just poached by JPM. Can’t make this stuff up. Anyone that is talented or worthwhile is running for the hills.
The MD hiring that you hear Koder talk about is a bunch of people from like UBS & Truist.
A bank of this size isn’t just going to disappear overnight - but in the absence of any change with the way things are going, the future does not look bright.
Something that goes unnoticed from a leadership perspective is Koder is a capital markets guy. He’s never done M&A and the group’s strategy and expertise reflects that. BofA is actually very strong in capital markets but they always complain that they aren’t strong in M&A. The low pay is precisely why that’s the case.
I left because the pay divide really started to get huge as I became a VP. As as VP my pay started to diverge from my equivalent peers at other banks by almost 6 figures despite being top bucket at BOFA and when you take into account that plus how terrible BOFA stock performs on a relative basis (because they give you a shit ton of RSUs) you realize you are missing out on money that could accelerate your retirement by decades.
Spending your VP years at another bank vs spending them at BofA could mean paying for your kid’s college. Not chump change
100% correct 👏👏
what about London? Is it the same story or is london any stronger?
Because a teller at my local branch was a jerk to me seven years ago and I had to switch to my local credit union.
Deal volume is strong. Culture is the issue. Long hours. Intense. BofA delivers but you earn it.
wut? deal volume outside of capital markets is weak. what exaactly are you earning there? its not pay....
Strong league table performance
This is false. They are very good in capital markets (#2 behind JPM) but if you’re not leading a capital markets deal you’re basically filling out some BS internal memos and collecting a fee. Their M&A fees are pedestrian in aggregate and terrible when you measure vs headcount. BofA definitely will “deliver” … a pack of gum to you on bonus day.
That VP hit the nail on the head. It's crazy that it's mid-2026 and they still haven't fixed the massive pay gap. No wonder top MDs are jumping ship to JPM. You just can't run a top M&A group with bottom-tier comp.
My 2 cents on BofA as someone who has a bunch of friends working there: Top buckets get compensated fairly enough with maybe a tad bit higher stock % in bonuses. They also have other levers to pull to get what they want, including double promotion. But the real issue is the mid bucket kids who put equal if not more effort than the top ones but receive egregiously lower bonuses. I can’t think of any other bank that is OK creating such a chasm between mid bucket and top bucket. Bottom bucket is a complete mess as you’re essentially down to get only peanuts.
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