Unpaid Internship in Commercial Lending? - Worth it?

I know there are many discussions here on whether or not unpaid internships are worth it, so don't think I'm posting this because of lack of initiative to read on my own. I'm asking specifically if commercial lending experience (unpaid) would be at all applicable to IB in an unpaid position. I would pass up a paid internship at a large credit union in fraud investigations. However, I have already worked there for 5 months and would like something applicable to IB. Is commercial lending worth a shot, especially considering an unpaid position? The unpaid position would be at regional SE (BB&T, SunTrust, Regions).

Thanks in advance for you input.

8 Comments
 

Interesting that one of those firms even has an unpaid program. What year are you? If you are a freshman, go for it; even as a sophomore it's probably going to be good experience just don't mention the unpaid part unless you are asked in interviews

“If you ain’t first, you’re last!” - GOAT
 

It's not a set program, I was just networking with commercial bankers in my area and I was thinking about offering to work for them in exchange for the experience. That's the bad part, I know. I'm a penultimate senior. I'm set to graduate in Dec 2019. Maybe this is just me thinking out of desperation because I don't have a job offer, but that's what this forum is for right? lol If I'm being crazy I'll just stay in my current, paid internship. I'm just worried that the fraud investigation experience won't help me at all.

Don't @ me
 

are you in college?

If IB is the goal, then a commercial banking internship is way more applicable than fraud investigations...you should learn basic financial statement analysis. assuming youre in college, leverage that experience the following year into another internship.

 

Corrupti quod rerum veniam ipsa voluptas. Ipsa cupiditate eos eum voluptatem tempora ut voluptas. Aut et velit provident doloremque.

Don't @ me

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”