Hey guys,
I've got a 1st rd phone interview with Barcap NY tomorrow for an IB SA position. What are some good reasons to answer to why barcap question? Reasons I've thought of: they've got very strong global exposure, although they're weak in the US they're definitely improving and are investing heavily here, and #1 in 2010 global DCM.
What else makes Barclays stand out? What's the culture like? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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What do you mean they're "weak in the US"? If anything, they're strongest in the US and weaker elsewhere. Picking up Lehman did wonders for them
Are there any groups that are especially strong at barclays in the US? What about groups that are primarily ex-lehman groups?
they are not going to ask you which groups are the strongest... who the fuck knows that off the top of their head anyways??
read the barcap website.. I am sure the website will detail about the culture, global reach, and definitely give you plenty of ammunition. If you networked with anyone, name drop and say i talked to xyz got a great feel.. etc. etc.
best advice i ever got:::
try to match your skills/abilities and stories to the job description
for example: "tell me about a time you were under pressure/stress" or "had to make deadlines" answer "well in my financial modeling class we were assigned a 5 hour deadline for a homework assignment.. i felt like a real analyst " etc. etc. etc.
does barcap leverage its balance sheet to help drive deal flow by extending lines of credit, issuing equity, etc?
i feel like i just wasted a great response on you
check out Bloomberg Markets magazine for January 2011. Bob Diamond is on the cover and they have a good story on him and the firm.
GOB, your response was greatly appreciated. I'm just trying to prepare a variety of talking points.
Libor, that's perfect.
Why might Barclays common stock be trading at an extremely low P/E ratio (3.6) compared to other banks such as GS (12.3), JPM (11.3), Citi (13.8), WF (14.8), MS (11.1), etc?
I know that P/E isn't an especially helpful metric for banks but barclay's price/book is .71 which also seems pretty low...
You guys are idiots.
Edit: After seeing the user, I mean just vanderbilt is an idiot.
Give him a break... he's from Vanderbilt.
Their Natural Resources Group is one of the best on the street
GOB hit the nail on the head. Personally, I hate it when I'm interviewing someone and they bring up how high we are on the league tables. Here's some genuine advice -- don't get too technical talking about how "barcap leverages its balance sheet to help drive deal flow by extending lines of credit, issuing equity". In most cases, your interviewer will immediately see through your b.s. and be disappointed that you don't have a better reason for liking barcap.
I would focus your "why" on the firm's culture and the relationships you've built at the bank. Name drop anybody you connected with, even if it's your first-round interviewer who gave you some solid advice. If you bring up Barclay's P/E ratio, or any other metric for that matter, as a talking point for your interview, you do not have the common sense required for this job.
Weak in the US?? In 2010, they are in the top 5 for M&A (even #2 for completed)...
@Voltaire thanks for the love
@vandy... Last post.. I've had plenty of finance interviews (combined ~28) over the last 2 recruiting seasons. Trust me, bringing up something like their P/E ratio, which they don't control, investors control (thought you worked in asset managent?) as a way to differentiate Barclays from the rest. This is a horrible idea.
If you bring up something technical they will most likely ask you to define it and then grill you on it.
For the why barcap?- keep it to a 30second response. Brevity is KEY.
Do not say Barclays is good in Natural resources and I like Natty resources. They want kids who can be placed in ANY group. Again once you get too specific you close doors. - trust me I did this with Morgan Stanley. If they ask you which groups you like, bring it up ten, but always explain your affinity to the product through a personal story.
Focus much more on knowing your resume, your story, why vandy, why Econ, what you learned in asset management etc and you will be fine.
They are really only lookIng for a kid who is: smart, articulate, succinct, and has a likable personality.
Personality wins jobs Technical skills only helps or hurts the chances
Why Barcap?
Answer: "Because I got dinged by Goldman." That's how most of the workers feel anyways, especially the Lehman legacy guys.
Barcap = natural resources or bust.
hi mark.
BarCap Reputation (Originally Posted: 04/29/2011)
How are BarCap perceived in the US? NY especially?
They're a BB, but they don't rank highly on M&A deal flow, in Europe or in the US. Why?
Which groups are top? Are the S&T operations running the show?
I understand they've only been allowed to be an IB in the US since 1999 due to the repeal, but are they one to watch out for in the new few years?
In the UK, where I'm from, a friend interned there last summer and said 80% were Oxbridge and LSE. Their first year program this year was around the same.
Is their huge balance sheet just one to watch out for? Maybe on the LBO side in the coming years?
good in europe, horrible in U.S.
BarCap S&T is very strong (I'm biased), up there with GS and MS in commodities and rates, and top in FX with UBS and DB. IB is not nearly as strong from what I've heard.
Hiring pretty aggressively for interns in NYC and paying very well. Most people coming in are from HYP, Stanford, Columbia, NYU
.
I hear they do alright in energy out in Houston.
At my school (HYP), the people who ended up going to Barcap or UBS were all athletes / bad students / people who generally had no clue about finance (think literature majors, etc.). This gave these banks a terrible reputation on campus. One of my suitemates ended up switching career paths because the only offers he got in finance were UBS and Barcap, and to put it bluntly, he felt it was a bit shameful.
Is this right? Certainly not. Does this mean all people going to UBS/Barcap are stupid? Certainly not. Does this mean they are bad places to work at the analyst level? Certainly not. Does anybody care about where you work after six months into the job? Nobody who matters.
But if you want to know why their reputation isn't that great among starry-eyed juniors and seniors--well, that's why.
You go to Princeton, no question. Right? Also, the "jock" and "dumb" stereotype is just carry over from Lehman.
I'm sure they are all dying to work at MS when their performance has been just as bad if not worse than BarCap and UBS over the past few years. Pretty stupid.
if the "dumb" stereotype is true, your suitemate should've taken the offer. As everyone always says on this board, good fit with your group is pretty important in banking.
These forums have deteriorated over the years with garbage like this. Barcap is a fine bank and going through their banking program and doing well will open many doors. Yes, you might not get KKR, but when they only take 6 people in NY PE, even the 100 Goldman analysts have huge odds against them. At the end of the day, you are doing the same shit at every bank, so building a great skillet and learning about the bigger picture at Barcap could set you up for a nice life.
Am I the only one who almost lol at this
HYP? Really. Personally know several top top (HYP near 4.0, perfect test scores, math/comp sci/ econ/ physics) at Barcap.
Anyone that considers getting into a top BB failure is a moron for several reasons:
1) Pay, especially at junior levels is roughly the same. At senior levels, its performance based 2) Work is roughly the same
Given this, how does your friend not go into finance b/c he only got into Barcap? The incremental value of being at GS/MS is negligible unless u only care about exit opps.
I have a good friend who studied accounting at Pepperdine (Malibu, Ca) and is taking a FT IB offer from BarCap to add to the non-target representation crowd.
I think some people missed the point of my post. I agree that it's absolutely ridiculous to think that Barcap / UBS are bad for prestige-related reasons. I was just pointing out that the bad reputation is precisely because of the lower perceived prestige, despite the fact that this is not important.
dazedmonk, the answer to your question is simple. Most people at my school don't actually want to work in finance. They do it because it's what everybody seems to be doing. But if the top kids seem to be running off to Goldman / Blackstone and you're stuck with Barcap/UBS, it feels a lot better to accept something like BCG, even if it's a completely unrelated industry, than to admit to yourself that you're not a top kid.
Serious reputation issue:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487044090045761464714014561…
A lot of unethical shit goes on at that bank.... Would avoid if you don't want to get arrested...
Hahaha. Crazy man
Just so you all know, I'm a first year British student, I'm not trying to evaluate whether or not to go there, despite having the spring week (and being non-target) because i had a couple. I'm just generally wondering what their prospects are given that their M&A side is virtually non-existent, didn't make top 20 on recent rankings...their S&T operation seems to heavily outweigh their overall operations as an IB. Will they be a force to come? Is the only way they can gain deal-flow by paying over-the-odds to attract lateral hires?
"it feels a lot better to accept something like BCG, even if it's a completely unrelated industry, than to admit to yourself that you're not a top kid."
I feel so sorry for people with this mentality.
It's kind of hard to feel sorry for someone who has the luxury of taking an MBB consulting offer because they threw a temper tantrum at "only" getting a BarCap IB offer.
-
People shitting on Barcap are hugely misinformed. It's widely acknowledged they have the top Nat Res / Power groups (oil and gas in particular; power is separate but grouped together for league tables - they advised on Duke - Progress deal), Tech is extremely strong as is Healthcare (advised Pfizer - Wyeth deal).
BBs are all the same more or less at the end of the day.You do the same shit for 100 hours a week and hate your life while getting paid low six figures for indentured servitude. Nothing prestigious about that whether you're at Goldman or UBS.
oil and gas is really solid...
which combined with the other comments on this thread further solidifies the absurdity of ranking banks in their entirety.
I'm in London and BarCap are perceived to be very strong both here and in Europe. From what I understand they are awesome at S&T, and "ever improving" in IBD.
Alot of people would take BCG over GS or MS, and it opens up doors to consulting biased PE and business school very well. From my experience everyone Ive spoken to at barcap seem very chill and Ive heard only great things about the culture there
BCG to PE is certainly not an easy transition. GS --> PE is waaay easier than McK/Bain --> PE, which are both better than BCG --> PE.
Spirit i meant consulting focused PE aka bain cap, golden gate etc
Even those typically hire straight from Bain, and sometimes McK. Look at the "our team" page of Golden Gate capital - 80% from Bain. And Bain Cap, well, the name says it all.
They are known for squeezing M&A credit / fees on financing gigs... My firm has turned to BAML / JPM / even Wells for financing as a result... Just saying...
Yep you are an idiot.
Barcap is a shithole.. rainmakers from Citi/UBS/GS/MS who moved there are all desperate to get back to their old firm in IBD..
Barcap is not a BB bank.. its just a commercial bank comparable with RBS/Socgen nothing special about that shithole... hahahahaha. PE placement is 0, they are absolute shit and not recognized by any PE firm. Anybody knows any Barcap dude went to Bx, TPG or KKR?
People from my school all of them used the barcap offer to get bettter gigs in Europe taking it to GS, MS, JPM, USB, BAML etc.
Their IBD including M&A /ECM is nowhere and will never be anything meaningfull , but agree that from a S&T point of view it is not a bad shop to learn the skills and move.
don't know enough to agree or disagree, but
Pivot you're from the UK I'm assuming based on the europe/socgen remarks. since most people here are from the US, and there are differences between the continents, can you PLEASE give the disclaimer that this is UK-specific? otherwise people might get wrong impressions, or worse make poor decisions, based on misplaced advice.
People from my school all of them used the barcap offer to get bettter gigs in Europe taking it to GS, MS, JPM, USB, BAML etc.
haha. USB....wtf
Note this is UK specific. From reliable sources it can be confirmed that even in the US ex Lehman at Barcap are desperate to move.. look at the Q1 results.. they are failing in every segment even in FICC they traditional core strength... Soon this ship including Bob Diamond will sink... its just a matter of time..
Yep in Europe/ Asia it is still a top 5 bank and considered as better compared to CS,DB, Barcap, Nomura, Citi.
But why don't they see deal-flow? They're known worldwide, they're a BB, it seems obvious that S&T is their selling point, but shouldn't this all help filter through into deals through reputation? Or does this just highlight how much banks rely on rainmakers to bring in deals?
On a day-to-day basis their IBD is probably no different, but there must be something going on for them to see such little deal flow (in the US+Europe)...i'll research more about their top guns and see if they're comparatively unknown from those at other BBs, if not then I don't know.
Barcap S&T (the debt business) started in the late 90s (1998) and they are already a big player. Barcap IBD (outside the US) was set up in seriousness in late 2007 and early 2008 (3years back) after their failed bid for ABN AMRO. They are up and coming. In the US, they are legacy Lehman. They have a strong balance sheet as well to give them an additional edge. Its a great place to work, pays well, and you have tremendous growth opportunities.
The views on this forum are extremely laughable. After having spent a few months on here, I can safely say that only a few people are worth listening or paying attention to - everyone else is still trying to find their post pubescent inner self
Disclaimer: I do not work there. This is based on my friends' views who work there. My friends are primarily in Asia and London, and are at the Associate, VP, Director level
double post
There are a lot of athletes working in S&T that I've met, but you also have the really nerdy guys as well. Also, the girls are pretty damn good looking, considering...
What really sold me was that all of the people I've met, with the exception of one legacy lehman guy, were all exceptionally nice, personable, interesting, and had a hunger to win. I know a 1st year trading analyst who has is own 8 figure book already, and he went out of his way to show me his strategies and what he reads day to day.
The people are incredibly bright, cool, and interested in making sure you have the best experience possible as an intern. The intern class is large, and come from varied backgrounds (btw, the jocks who play lax or soccer etc are still very solid students, and more than a few I met doing S&T for their summer had already worked in banking, and decided to change)
I would much rather hang out after work with guys we can chase girls with and talk about stuff besides finance than some math nerd who can't even drink and keep himself under control yet (cmon, you're 21 years old...)
I had offers at two other BBs, one of which is being touted here as better, but you know what, I didn't get along nearly as well or feel as good of a fit with the 8 people I interviewed with at said BB. I am confident I made the better choice, and when you look at trading volume tables, check out where GS and MS are in FX/Emissions and lets see if your line changes.
It sounds you are convincing yourself :) LOL
Christ. Barcap is a top tier BB. End of story.
Don't fool yourself..Barcap is not a BB bank and never will be. It is in the category of HSBC, BNPP, RBS. Nothing more or less end of story.
I don't get it, are you retarded or just in the mood to bash people's careers today?
HSBC oil trading in London-Dubai are top notch.. I was an intern there when I was a Freshman. Everybody was either IIT master's level or Oxoford/Imperial/LSE/LSB and a few U.S. grads who couldn't handle the heat of trading to the .0000001 to the barrel.
As for Barcap, got an offer from them when I was a senior, I did not take it, they have a very shitty recruiting team... that one bitch who graduated from Columbia with an MBA thinks she runs the bank... everyone who was hired in the last few semesters knows what I'm talking about. The pay was pretty sick, but they placed me in Trading and not Sales...
As for most of the idiots on here, most of them didn't realize that these are two completely split programs (Sales and Trading).. you gotta choose at the beginning.
I ended up accepting an offer that paid less, but with a significantly more prestigious name. But Barcap is a good place to be out of college--- oh ya by the way, I am a Division 1 Track athlete... I can definitely see how there is a athlete (broski) bias. I think that is how most S&T shops are... gotta have the discipline and flexibility to learn/act fast... welcome to sales and trading.
And yes they are hiring non-targets to diversify their team... especially in the Sales and Trading divisions.
As for HYP guys, go fuck yourselves.. Princeton is located in my ass hole. If someone from Princeton knew the world of girls I would be amazed, then I would find a way to destroy his ego with every resource I had on spot. (I dont think they realized that dick size is ceteris paribus no matter how much pay you get or where you work.
Hmm what does pivot have against Barcap? Or is he just a troll?
This is stupid. The thread started off with someone talking about how their friend got an offer from barclays and didn't take it because it was beneath them due to the other people they were hiring, and has turned toward an unemployed teenager with a clear vendetta they are willing to voice. I feel like an asshole for giving this a natural bump to the top, but really, what the fuck is this shit?
He's more than a troll... he's just rude.
Looks like pivot got rejected from barcap
Pivot is seriously annoying. Stop with all your bitter comments.
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Aren't they the best for ER, at least among the large investment banks????
dont listen to pivot. barcap is top in s&t also in europe. ibd is lagging behind but they have strong teams such as their oil & gas (in europe there are a lot of the ex citi oil&gas guys at barcap) which is doing perfectly fine.
stop worrying about prestige all the time.
i actually think pivot is right on this
really off topic, but Blastoise I really like that display pic bro. It really cracked me up... so appropriate for this website.
Sterling reputation in pub fin, all the ex-Lehmans employees came aboard.
pivot works at ubs but he is right for once, barcap sucks
My perception is that BarCap is pretty good on the trading/research side, can't speak for IB.
These forums are full of idiots . Barcap is a BB. In fixed income s&t they are a top 5 player.
I visited the Barcap credit desk a year ago and the people there were extremely nice (they also have some pretty hot girls that work there as well). I loved the atmosphere of the trading floor there. It made me want to get into S&T even more.
I would kill for a job in their oil & gas group; they do quite well. 2nd in the league tables for O&G M&A behind Goldman 2011 YTD.
barcap (Originally Posted: 11/24/2007)
does anyone know what the base salary and bonus for barclays capital is like??
Analyst/associate? And which city?
for analyst...in new york
for analyst...in new york
street in terms of base, but their first year bonuses are smaller than normal (at least in S&T and DCM, not sure about IBD). They get paid from the "HR" pool, and are usually guaranteed 15-20k in their first year. It's performance based after.
so im guessing that should total about 75,000 - 85,000 in total compensation for the first year?? The reason I was asking is because, I'm trying to compare wachovia, Sun trust and barclays capital. I already had figures for wachovia and sun trust but not for barcap...
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