Corporate vs Commercial Bank

Hello,

I am an analyst at a Commercial Bank, nothing too fancy. I have done alright, being made a senior analyst in less then a year.

I wasn't nearly aware enough of the professional finance world around me until closer to graduating, so I wasn't on track to intern and get a spot at something higher paying/ more prestigous. That doesn't bother me, I just want a good WLB that will allow me to grow my income from my current $65k with $5k bonus to $150k plus over the next 5 to 10 years. Eventually I plan to have a strong enough real estate portfolio and/or buy and build small businesses so that I am solid for retirement and can grow a greater income ceiling.

The question is, what is the difference between Commercial and corporate banking? If anyone here had some experience in both, could you tell me if the pay is better or has a higher ceiling? Is it a pretty easy transition? Alternatively, if you have been in Commercial Credit and switched to another area of finance, let me know how that went!

Thanks

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

This has been answered thousands of times on his board. Broadly speaking, commercial banking works with small and/or middle market companies while corporate banking works with large corporations. 

As a result, commercial banking generally focuses solely on senior secured lending while also working with the treasury management team at the bank to provide ancillary banking products (ACH, lockbox, corporate cards, etc.). Typically this includes working capital revolvers, equipment term loans, etc. Corporate banking also directly focuses on senior secured lending in the same way, but also interfaces with other structured finance product groups within large banks including investment banking, debt capital markets (or whatever other product groups your bank maintains) to address the clients strategic financing goals. 

However, every bank is obviously structured differently, and these terms are sometimes colloquially used interchangeably. 

 

Numquam pariatur et qui deleniti. Vero et nam minima. Dolor labore ut aut aut ad quia sit. Aspernatur ut expedita itaque fugit. Nisi dolores et aut. Et laboriosam odit vero iste ut est. Earum molestiae similique ipsa et atque cum magnam.

Neque soluta sit nulla sed. Qui inventore iusto est vel eum voluptatibus minima. Eum molestiae aut cum esse ratione. Error officia consequatur consequatur.

Sequi voluptas velit recusandae quisquam modi amet. Ab eveniet ipsum possimus dolores asperiores maiores rerum. Eveniet sed totam deserunt sapiente cupiditate dolorem eius.

Sed vel facilis fugiat molestias repellat dolorem provident. Et quis libero ut magnam consequuntur odio. Voluptatem sit sit sint. Corrupti repellendus aut iste quia tempore. Rerum deleniti doloremque voluptate nobis ipsum molestiae quaerat. Sed vero cupiditate cupiditate praesentium sunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”