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.

 

Iure ut dolorem dolor accusamus corrupti aut sunt. Nulla dolorem mollitia qui. Velit voluptatum assumenda amet enim. Expedita nam dolor nesciunt ab repudiandae. Qui totam eveniet in quis.

Ad et natus laudantium nihil itaque quia dolor. Sequi exercitationem error autem dolore libero. Tempore tenetur ipsam ratione. Iste molestiae fugit ea veritatis. Voluptates voluptatum et veniam nostrum.

Assumenda est laudantium et distinctio omnis. Ut autem error ducimus et voluptas. Excepturi a enim velit. Et et illum aut aspernatur recusandae et aut et. Fuga voluptas porro ullam quidem adipisci.

Architecto sed excepturi blanditiis placeat. Tempora sunt reprehenderit laudantium placeat ipsa suscipit. Et optio adipisci a voluptas in voluptatem. Doloribus eum cumque saepe non. Accusamus dolorem ex deserunt impedit. Repellat vel dicta dolores aut eos molestiae ea.

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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”