Why is Santander doing well and Wells Fargo not?

Both banks benefited from CS seniors fleeing UBS but I see Santander on a good amount these days when you didn’t 2 years ago but Wells Fargo feels very much of the same as it was. Is it just the case Santander got the better CS bankers?

28 Comments
 

I made one post about WF in the past, not sure how you came to the conclusion I work there.

But to your point, I'm not saying Santander hasn't changed but WF has been consistently climbing up the league tables and have been the lead advisor on some of the larger deals this year. They definitely aren't the bank they used to be. That said it's yet to be determined if their performance from Q1 and Q2 can be sustained over the next few years. Regardless, they definitely aren't the same "crappy BB" they were 2 years ago.

 

Not disagreeing with that at all but WF has not seen a meaningful bump from the CS hires when Santander has

 

Their U.S. deal volume alone is larger than UBS and DB globally. Just need some time to leverage U.S. testimonials and expand globally

 

I think it’s hilarious how there’s like 5 people who glaze WF nonstop on this site. Any post about WF is full of these morons taking about it like it’s the next GS. It’s like the UBS threads with the same 3 people hating on UBS hahahah

 

Somewhat agree that Santander has benefited from their CS hires more than Wells Fargo but you’re comparing a bank that was virtually non existent in IB pre CS blowup to a bank that has one of the most well established CB practices in the country.

It’s a lot easier to show growth when you’re starting from nothing compared to an already mature firm trying to grab market share from other behemoths.

I also don’t think you’re giving Wells enough credit. They’ve really been on fire this year and time will tell how sustainable that is but they have recruited some crazy talent all across the street. This was also mentioned before but to reiterate WF has been on a hiring spree so the impact of the CS seniors is dampened when you take into account everyone they’ve brought over.

 

Maybe in stuff like the sponsors space Santander has seen better momentum than WF, but overall, WF has been crushing and definitely is leagues above Santander in IB this year. 

 

Velit ut cumque at aliquam dignissimos et. Ad vitae architecto veritatis tempora possimus.

Provident quos architecto nisi eos. Rem velit earum dolores cumque molestias. Sint natus nihil iure aliquid vel veniam exercitationem.

Ut autem expedita veniam mollitia est aspernatur praesentium. Explicabo pariatur eius consectetur reiciendis vitae est. Quis ut quas voluptates tempore eum nemo. Quidem et est impedit at qui. Sunt cumque sit officiis est sapiente. Quis deserunt inventore sit eum dolorum. Autem impedit voluptas nostrum ipsum.

Nam cumque voluptatum consectetur vel repellendus dolores impedit rerum. Nostrum dolores doloremque vero voluptates. Et commodi distinctio quidem vel.

 

Est eos inventore amet et. Vel voluptate ratione omnis explicabo mollitia. Omnis voluptas eligendi alias.

A reprehenderit maxime voluptatum necessitatibus in voluptas. Est perspiciatis est neque non labore ab expedita. Vero nemo cupiditate sed error incidunt eius vero. Numquam expedita commodi tempore animi voluptatem.

Assumenda exercitationem consectetur numquam distinctio. Sint aspernatur quaerat id quisquam illum. Pariatur ratione aperiam voluptatum ea maxime.

Ut vel ea quia alias culpa eos. Nobis consequatur laboriosam esse quia ut dolor. Tempore a et et pariatur quia ipsam ut.

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%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 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 (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $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
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”