I didn't do well during the interviews and only got summer offers form these two firms for their HK SA programs. I am really having a hard time choosing between these two. I would truly appreciate any inputs you guys have, including their reputation, conversion rate, culture, etc.
Thanks a lot, and good luck!
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I can't offer any advice, but I know both Barclays and Nomura are 2 of the stronger names in Asia, so congrats on the offers!
Thanks man! I think both companies are trying to grow their Asia IBD businesses, so in that sense it is an opportunity for analysts.
Both are not doing as well as the other BBs in HK/Greater China. But I would take Barcap.
Nomura HK is not earning enough M&A/ECM deals to support its HK businesses, they recently cut the whole FIG team (fired a few analysts). Last year's Corporate Finance intern return rate was 1/10 (Global Finance interns had a better return rate tho). Plus, the "worsening" of China-Japan relations have affected their deals, as 90% of their deals concerns at least one Japanese company.
Barcap is not doing too well either, but their conversion rate is definitely higher for interns!
Thanks for your post. I agree with what you said. Nomura cut its already small FIG team last year and now it has even fewer sector teams, which can be a bad thing in terms of area of coverage. I heard that among the 12 interns last year, only 3 got hired for full-time, so 25% conversion rate, which is a little scary.
Yeah, I think out of the 3, only 1 came from the Corporate Finance side, the other 2 came from ECM/DCM side. Nomura also cut the mining team earlier in 2012. Barcap definitely.
Nomura's conversion rate has historically (2009 and 2010) been quite high, which led them to over-hire. Agree with the above that Nomura is not getting enough deals in HK and 2012 return rate was very low. I don't think 2013 return rate would be high either.
For Barcap, it depends on the team, some of their HK teams are doing great and others not so well.
When does the offer explode?
I would pick Barclays if I was you - better conversion rate and will set you up better for other FT interviews if you dont happen to get the return offer.
Thanks for the advice. The offers explode at the same time by the end of next week. For BarCap, they treat interns as generalists, so they work across different sectors and teams.
About Nomura conversion rate...well, someone from the firm called me up trying to persuade me to sign the contract, saying that this year the intern class is strong and they expect to convert many interns into full-time analysts...which I am not sure is bs or true. :(
Haha doubt Nomura will be converting many interns into full-time... They are cutting 1st/2nd year analysts...
Choose Barclays - I have a few friends working there, they have some good sector teams, try your best to get work from those teams.
Is this for IBD? If it is for IBD, definitely BarCap. BarCap has better dealflow and reputation. Most of Nomura HK's ex-Lehman guys left, not much deals, still very focused on Japanese companies. I think Nomura will continue to cut its IBD operations in HK, not much room for return offers/
If it is for S&T, I would choose Nomura (strong team from Lehman).
That's what I heard too, that most ex-Lehman guys already left. Both offers are for IBD. So you think BarCap is definitely the way to go?
Yeah, pick BarCap for IBD. While both struggled, BarCap seems to have better prospects, where Nomura will continue to struggle with the on-going China-Japan crisis.
Tough choice. Nomura is supposedly quite strong in Asia. However I'm hearing that lately the company isn't in good shape. Maybe you should play it safe and stick with BarCap. Stronger overall brand name.
Nomura has been pretty strong in Asia while BarCap HK struggled last year...guess BarCap HK won't hire a lot analysts after having a bad year. I would choose Nomura if you want better chances of getting a return offer
It seems Nomura isn't doing great either...last year only 25% conversion rate.
I would say def BarCap b/c of its stronger deal flow. I don't know the exact conversion rate of both firms, but according to the 2012 SA I know, the conversion rate of BarCap is 2/2, Nomura is 0/1.
What if now I add MS into the equation...? MS isn't known for high conversion rate but is probably the strongest among the three.
I would pick MS cuz otherwise I would regret it for the rest of my life.
Recently Barclays and MS fired up to 1/4 of their IBD (from rumours). But from friends of friends, I did hear that both banks fired people including 1st year analysts.
If you look on Dealogic Asia, Barclays is no where to be found on the past year's league table.
MS is notorious for their FT conversion, but MS is a grand brand name is still one of the strongest banks in HK. Just start networking before summer ends to see what other opportunities pop up.
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