Which industry sectors / specializations tend to be the most profitable in commercial banking?

Currently looking to get into commercial banking and was wondering if the WSO community had any thoughts on which industry sectors / specializations tended to be the most profitable specifically within the commercial banking division (i.e. excluding investment & corporate banking, asset management).

Understand this will vary widely based on size of bank / segmentation but thought I would get a conversation started on here by listing a couple of industry sectors / specializations that I have seen on commercial banking websites. If there is an additional high profit specialization / industry sector I didn't touch on, please fee free to discuss in the comments section. 

  • Commercial Real Estate Finance
  • Asset Based Lending
  • Equipment Finance
  • Franchise / Restaurant Finance
  • FIG / Specialty / Securities Finance
  • Food / Beverage / Agribusiness
  • International / Cross-Border Finance
  • Government / Healthcare / Education / Non-Profit Finance
  • Technology (i.e. MRR / ARR Financing)
  • Auto Dealership Finance
  • Diversified Industries
  • Private Equity / Sponsor Finance
  • Life Sciences Finance
3 Comments
 

I would advise you focus on getting into a good training or rotational program at a top bank. Second to that, determine what you'd like to do, what industries you find appealing and where you want to end up in the future. Think about where the industry could go as a whole

If you search by industry, try to find one that specializes in what you're looking for. ie Rabo for food, or SVB for tech, life sci, and PE.

Dealer and Franchise finance are B O R I N G.

 

Appreciate the advice. With all of the layoffs going on late last year at big names (e.g. Wells Fargo, BMO) and everyone trying to improve their efficiency ratio; was just trying to get a sense for groups that have a better chance at avoiding cuts given their high profitability levels but understand cyclicality in the industry is a matter of fact.

 

Dicta asperiores ullam velit odio. Sapiente harum iste perferendis culpa nemo. Et earum impedit qui. Repellat excepturi aut iste fuga. Officia porro iusto odit repellendus sapiente. Delectus expedita repellendus veritatis aspernatur rerum veniam. Magni laboriosam voluptatem quidem eligendi vel quae tempore.

Quia vel id facilis blanditiis asperiores soluta. Reiciendis quae ex voluptatem quod dolorem. Qui minus aut et reprehenderit facilis aut quasi. Hic voluptatem velit est omnis quam voluptas enim nam.

Illum earum est autem molestias. Rem labore sunt minima. Aliquam dolor aut alias sit nihil tenetur.

Aut omnis occaecati in sunt voluptatem nesciunt dolores. Aut quia eaque neque voluptatem. Ab laborum nobis ipsum accusamus quos dolorum corrupti ipsam. Nihil dolorem nemo illum explicabo dignissimos esse. Quisquam reiciendis vitae in incidunt consequuntur molestias. Ut autem quasi non aspernatur illum consectetur magni.

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...”