Worst Banking Cultures in Frankfurt?
What banks do have the worst cultures in Frankfurt? How are the hours in general? I heard German banking scene is extremely sweaty, i.e., ~2AM almost standard Mo-Thu and Sunday basically a normal working day (heard 10-11 AM - midnight and longer happens often).
That being said, I have that insights mostly from shops where I know the culture is super tough. How are other palces looking like?
For context: currently evaluating some options to join M&A teams in Frankfurt and potentially also Munich (tbd).
It's Frankfurt. No one there is happy.
Barclays notorious for very old school culture (think drugs, heavy alcohol, misogyny, face time). MS similar but to a lesser extent
DB a few bad apples at the senior level but overall ok
Long hours across the board
Germany culture is not that hard compared to some other countries. It's more than there is a huge difference between the "usual" jobs and leaving at 5pm vs banking hours.
Yes some place will be sweatshops but once again nothing more than roughly 1am ending on average, and weekends are usually quite protected.
The German culture isn't really toxic either, ofc some banks can be more "old school" than others but it's still enjoyable compared to some other countries.
"weekends are usually quite protected" - which kind of banks are you referring to?
This is an interesting take as I would say across peer-group I never heard once that Sunday would be protected (mostly BB/EB). Typically, Sunday is considered a normal working day.
Few friends of mine at GS clocked in regular 10-11am/2amish on Sundays.
Basically all banks except MM boutiques who are just volume shops and sweatshops like Laz, JP, GS, Roth etc
I guess interns are in the majority of cases protected and interns like to inflate a lot their hours because it's make them look tough
German is the combination of bad culture and long hours.
not quite sure which country is worse. Seems to me culture wise Paris can be worse, but hours wise German is the worst.
Italy also bad culture and extremely low pay for interns, but hours better.
Portugal no IBs at all, Spain culture not good.
Nordics is actually decent.
UK hours worse than continents (but better than German), but culture is the best.
Benelux is quite small and fall under France and Benelux coverage.
What about the Dutch
Germans think anything over 40 hours is a crime ffs who cares
They are right
heard from a friend in German MM volume boutique
Lazard: if junior analysts do not drink alcohol after work (work finished after midnight), you will not pass the trial period - this culture improved after one associate left
Rothschild: cold relationship among colleagues, otherwise Ok
Evercore: grinding never stop until later half of night
My friend’s boutique: 100+ hours week for interns
I think the whole drinking stuff at EBs is gone. Don't have first hand infos but Laz used to be like this. With new senior leadership arriving a few years ago I think many had to leave and new hires were made. I also think they are too busy to go drinking.
Jefferies is apparently an absolute sweat fest
Seems universally true at this point
Yes, 2am Mo-Th is quite standard. You ll definitely also have weekend work, but for most shops I wouldn't say it's every weekend. More like every 2nd/3rd weekend or so.
If you work for a sweatshop, then hours can also get to 3am/4am often. I do not have an exhaustive list, but the shops with sweaty hours from what I have heard are:
What have you hear about GS/MS? Particularly interested in GS but have heard really a lot of bad stories. While I heard that culture among the mid/junior level a few years ago was really tight and good (better than London) hours apparentlys off the chart horrendous.
Can't tell much about both. But i guess at both you will work until 2/3 am from Monday to Thursday with weekend work.
A lot of people say MS culture in Frankfurt is not good, but can't tell you why exactly.
Honestly, all IB cultures in Europe are bad.
France: Extremely toxic, long hours and hierarchical
Switzerland: Unless you are Swiss, extremely toxic and discriminating
Spain: Despite culture-wise okay-ish, really bad hours and hard (don’t think just because of Spain it is nice)
Nordics: Good culture and hours are OK but really small industry and not much sunlight causing depression
UK: Highly dependent on team/bank; in general less hours though but almost impossible to generalise
Germany: Probably longest hours, culture is more pragmatic and direct but overall better than in other continental European countries (some exceptions)
really good summarize but believe you miss Italy. My two cents: long hours and lowest internship pay, bad culture and can be discriminating if you are girl or if you are non-Europeans
I was at Bocconi as a exchange student and shared a flat with an Italian BB intern. He (no joking) came home like 2-3 every night. I would say 2 was on the early side. I remember numerous occasions when I went partying, came home at 2 AM, made myself bed ready and heard him coming back later.
Think he also regularly worked Sundays. By the end of my time there he looked like every little inch of happiness left his body. Eye rings, white-skin, etc.
Germany hours Def not longer than UK or France
HL industrial tech
What time do people in Germany get in? Since coverage groups are often in London I feel like you loose at night but have a relaxed morning?
Depends on who runs the process. Between 9/9:30 am in general
That sucks actually, our teams in London do not really start before 10 unless there are any client calls…
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