Lev Loan Monitoring

Hi all,

I am new to contributing to this site so I apologize if I mess up the protocol for Q&A in any way, but I have learned a lot from this site over the years and have a lot of respect for the opinions shared, so was hoping to get some input on a lesser discussed (perhaps lesser known) area within large banks with investment and commercial banking presences: that of leveraged loan portfolio monitoring.

First some quick background: I graduated from a non target with a decent finance program (which was my major) and a slightly above average GPA. I networked a lot and was able to land an IB analyst role in an industry group at a boutique firm with very low deal volume in a smaller city. I have 1+ years in the aforementioned role, which is where I still am. I also have a master’s degree in a quantitative field.

I recently received an offer from a global bank known to have a powerful presence in leveraged finance. The role would be located in a satellite city (think how GS recently added positions in Utah) and is somewhat of a hybrid position that would fall under the leveraged finance umbrella but is not an IB role, though it is considered a front office position at this bank.

The role essentially monitors all of the bank’s North American leveraged loan exposure (after executing a debt financing they may hold 10-20% while selling the rest to CLOs, Loan Mutual Funds, etc… to lower risk-weighted assets) for adherence to covenants. This particular bank has 400+ such relationships and is left lead on approximately 90, so this monitoring would be done on behalf of the bank itself as well as other syndicate members.

It seems I would develop some fundamental credit analysis skills, work with outside legal counsel and be exposed to various IB industry groups within the bank (whichever is relevant for the company they’re extending credit to), all the while working fairly closely with the leveraged finance team. However, this role will not teach me anything about lev fin modeling, which seems to be much more important for breaking into PE or HF. And, of course, it is in a relatively obscure location for financial careers. However, it will offer a significant salary/bonus bump from my current role and has a much lower COL than NYC.

Now, my question is as follows: Would taking this position for 2-3 years (possibly with a lateral to NY after 2 years) open doors to Lev Fin within the bank itself? Or, is this a transferable skill set that would eventually help me transition to another bank in NYC? Are credit HF exit opps a possibility given the group’s global stature within Lev Fin? What about top 10 MBA (assume 720+ GMAT, solid recommendations and ability to tie experience into a cohesive narrative for essays)? I would not just be taking the opportunity with the goal of immediately moving (it might even be nice to avoid the grunt years at major banks in NYC by living in this smaller city), but I would like to eventually move to NYC and not be limited in my career progression by an early decision (1+ years out of school) to move out of IB.

I would deeply appreciate any and all constructive remarks/suggestions and thanks to everyone in advance for past contributions and any feedback you have on this topic.

-RH