FT - Commercial Bank or Private Bank?

Alright friends, I had the joy of making a brutal career choice today. Brutal, because I could see myself in both positions, and I wasn't totally sure about what I wanted to do. I went with my gut and the choice is made, but I'd still like to hear other thoughts on it.

Here's the deal - interning at a BB in the commercial bank, and somehow got FT offers from the commercial bank & private bank (I talked to them a little through the course of the internship). Long term career goal is to do cross-border M&A, but the M&A market's a bit slow right now and hiring isn't exactly at an all time high (especially given my mediocre resume).

My analysis:

Analyst with the Commercial Bank -
Structure debt (work on new deals)
Perform industry analysis & financial statement analysis
Get client interaction
Get some M&A exposure via debt-funded M&A activity
Get some international exposure via US multi-nationals & subs of foreign multi-nationals

Analyst with the Private Bank -
Prepare client deliverables
Learn to analyze the markets (debt & equity)
Understand portfolio building & portfolio management
Get exposure to high net work individuals
Learn about estate planning & taxes as they apply to super rich people

Which one would you have picked and why?

3 Comments
 
huanleshalemei

If you end goal is M&A, the answer is quite obvious, don't you think?

I thought so, plus there were soft factors (people, culture) that swayed my vote, but I'm not any particular expert so I figured I'd ask. Who knows, I could have gone in the complete wrong direction.

 

Itaque nulla eveniet et consequuntur magni asperiores minus quis. Eveniet reprehenderit voluptas ex est expedita at reiciendis quidem. Et rerum dolorem aut magni reprehenderit in. Quis consectetur eos aspernatur assumenda illum officiis. Odit non voluptatibus odio ipsa.

Velit tempora placeat cupiditate optio. Tenetur et expedita inventore aut quaerat totam. Quos in distinctio provident voluptatem molestiae quaerat.

Delectus earum itaque vero accusamus. Sapiente illo distinctio alias quo reiciendis in. Voluptates exercitationem quasi non facere rerum et. Quia expedita pariatur numquam. Sed quam laborum veritatis laborum sunt qui quia fugiat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”