Credit Suisse Concerns
Hi. I am new on the board and I am currently debating an offer between Credit Suisse and some respectable Fortune 500 finance jobs. On the surface, this seems like a no brainer. However, a high level banker (head of group) that I have been in contact with at CS has been hinting that I should consider my other offers strongly. This is a drastic change of heart since he has been a cheerleader for Credit Suisse ever since I have met him. Perhaps he knows something that is going to happen at CS that could affect Summer Analysts that I don't? Has anyone on this board heard rumors of possible layoffs for reassignments at CS? They seem to have not gone through their fair share of layoffs yet as compared to other firms.
CS was on top of my list during SA recruiting, and I was sad when I didn't get selected after my 2nd round last week.
From everyone I talked to there, they said things were still going smoothly, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
I'd imagine his sentiment stems not from anything specifically related to CS, but because of the dubious future of the industry in general. Nobody knows what the regulatory environment will look like, what bonus limitations will look like, what public backlash (i.e the Thain situation, UBS accounts)will take place, or what form these banks will take up when we do emerge from this. This isn't 2006-I think he just wants you to ask yourself these questions so that you can decide whether, in this environment, banking is really for you or not.
I'd imagine his sentiment stems not from anything specifically related to CS, but because of the dubious future of the industry in general. Nobody knows what the regulatory environment will look like, what bonus limitations will look like, what public backlash (i.e the Thain situation, UBS accounts)will take place, or what form these banks will take up when we do emerge from this. This isn't 2006-I think he just wants you to ask yourself these questions so that you can decide whether, in this environment, banking is really for you or not.
Funny you mention this. Another senior member at CS told me the exact thing although I didn't have an offer. He said working in PE or F500 would be much better than working for a bank. Maybe he said it because he knew I wouldn't get an offer or maybe he said it because it was true. Since this is a SA gig, I suggest you still do it, I have a feeling you can get the F500 jobs full time if you want based on this experience.
if you value job security. go with fortune 500. You will most likely not make much more money in banking the next few years anyway.
I am pretty sure he is asking you to consider if you really want to do banking overall, not trying to hint at troubles at CS. Let's be honest, in the environment now, if you aren't going to enjoy what you're doing then its going to suck. They pay most likely won't be great, less deal flow. I'm going S&T so its a little different, but I've definitely run into people at CS and elsewhere who candidly asked, is this what you want to do because the environment could likely suck for awhile (depending on their level of skepticism). For me the answer is undoubtedly yes, the role is exciting, challenging and what I want to do. You really need to evaluate that side for yourself, because its likely not going to be the bonuses that keep you around for the next few years.
Other than that, CS is an excellent firm and as well positioned as any to capitalize of a turnaround (yes, has to be taken with a grain of salt of course because things can change in an instant). On the bright side, CS has been pretty proactive with recognizing losses in MTM, so their balance sheet could be considered in a more conservative position IMO. PM me if you want to talk, I'll be there this summer.
CS cut very deep in December. I echo Tbone's sentiments that this is a reflection on the industry as a whole.
Take the Credit Suisse offer, It would look amazing on your resume. I've been in contact with a senior contact at the company and he said that all SA programs were cut in half.
One of the reasons I am so worried is that I feel that pretty soon even "healthy banks" are going to be laying thousands of people off and switching SAs into the back office. I feel like if you work at a bank where the hammer hasn't fallen yet, it will pretty soon.
CS is in a very strong position when the market picks up. Their PB and wealth management has seen very strong flows. Yes, the IB will be operating much leaner but which bank won't be.
Take the CS offer, what do you have to lose?
Also with the layoffs, they have been through their fair share. 5000 ppl or 11% of the company
In my opinion, even with those concerns as a SA you don't have to worry about that right now. You get two major bonuses: 1) You get IBD experience with a great firm 2) You get more time to evaluate your concerns and see what the market is like in a year. You can always go for finance at a Corporation FT if you decide you IBD is too risky. That's my opinion, but of course I'm biased
Thanks for all the feedback. But my main concern is that he was hinting at something happening that would eliminate the SA IBD experience (such as reassignment)
They will not reassign summers. That makes no sense. They also have yet to reassign any full-time analysts while competitors have like GS and Citi. Any summer offer at this point should be considered very safe. The banks want to keep summers happy so they can retain them at the end of the 10 weeks for full-time positions; that way they can minimize recruiting costs of going out and doing more FT recruiting in the fall than is absolutely necessary.
If you have an offer from any of GS, MS, JPM, CS, or DB, you can feel pretty good about it. Those banks I think have done the best jobs at creating some stability and cutting deep & quickly into unnecessary businesses and superfluous positions. Barclays is also probably in good shape; if possible I'd stay away from UBS/Citi/BOA, just given all the turmoil at UBS and the threats of the 'n word' at the latter two.
Pretty confident that will not happen. They've had pretty good results through the first part of 2009, it seems unlikely there would be something that would cause them to eliminate IBD SA.
I dunno about CS as a bank. But I just spoke to a friend who works there today and he said he has had 8 hours of sleep this whole week.
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