IB in BeNeLux: viable career path?

Almost all BBs have BeNeLux coverage teams. Pre Brexit they operated out of London. I guess most groups would now be based out of Amsterdam. I suggest networking with benelux analysts on linkedin or senior folks to get an idea. Cheers! 

I can speak for Belgium: 

Rotschild, Lazard, EY, BNP are the top players. 

Then the other big4 + BDO, ING, KBC. 

Finally there are some boutiques such as Allyum, Deloitte Private, Merodis, Closing, Tandem, etc. 

If you want to work in IB in Belgium I would advise you to intern in a boutique first. 

I can only speak for Belgium as well.

There are several opportunities in the Benelux market.

You have international players such as Lazard, Rothschild, JP Morgan, Lincoln International etc. More regional players are Degroof Petercam, BNP, KBC Securities,...

If you want to get in, I highly recommend doing internships at some regional boutiques. You have several boutiques in the Brussels area: Merodis, Tandem Capital Advisors, Kumulus Partners, Allyum,... and many more

I have some friends working in Amsterdam and you can find most of the international players there as well. If you’re fluent in French, I would also recommend to search for opportunities in Paris!

French only may suffice, but Flemish/Dutch will open so many more doors and it's almost the only way to get in ft in NL.

Rest of what they said is true. Maybe look to participate in the annual vlerick m&a challenge to meet some of the banks up close. 

Second what is said above. Taking part in the LBT (NL) / LBC (Belgium) would also increase your chances of getting a foot in the door at Benelux BB’s.

Hi, I can talk for Belgium and the Netherlands (not a lot of IB activity in Luxembourg outside of Asset management or Valuation teams of big4 consultancies that nearly only do portfolio valuation from asset management funds).

The heart of the IB dealmaking for the Benelux used to be London but I see banks shift more and more towards Amsterdam post-Brexit and in rare occasions to Brussels (Berenberg) or Paris (HSBC).

as said above, most of the BBs have their Benelux coverage teams in London (GS, MS, etc) but an increasing amount of banks are increasing their headcount in Amsterdam (BAML, UBS, Citi, JPM, Macquarie, Jeff, etc)

outside of the BBs or the usual EB like Rothschild, Lazard or HL, the local banks have a big presence in the local deal activity (BNP, KBC and ING in Brussels or ABN, ING and Rabo in Amsterdam). Some local private banks and advisory boutiques are also pretty active in IB (Degroof Petercam or Berenberg in Brussels and Kempen&Co, NIBC, Lincoln or Nielen Schuman in Amsterdam and The Hague), although some are more focused towards ECM like Kempen, Berenberg or Belfius. 

A good piece of advice that was given above as well is that if you are looking for your first experience in IB in the Benelux, the big4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG), firms alike (BDO, RSM, Baker Tilly, Grant Thorton), or regional boutiques like (Tandem, Kumulus, Florin Finance, Allyum, VD&P, Merodis, ONEtoONE CF, Marktlink, Clairfield, The Capital Link etc) offer interesting internship opportunities in either m&a advisory, valuation or transaction services.

If you are belgian and your goal is a BB, the LBC (London Banking Circuit) is an absolute no-brainer. Some banks use it as their first-round for their Belgian candidates. 

As mentioned above, Dutch is gonna be a requirement in most banks located in Amsterdam outside of a couple of exceptions like some of the BBs, ABN and Kempen&Co. Regarding Brussels, most of the candidates / interns I have seen get full-time offers were usually fluent in Dutch with a good level of French or vice versa. 

After some extensive job hunting in Luxembourg, I should be qualified to have a word on this topic.

In the Financial Services sector there, most opportunities are in Fund administration, Audit, also perhaps some in Private Banking and Portfolio Management. Since the overall market is relatively small, the closest you will get to an IBD experience (close but not quite) is in the Big Four(and shops like BIL, BDO etc) Corporate Finance(CF) teams. As mentioned above, the IB coverage for the Benelux region should be based in either Amsterdam or Brussels. On a side note, some PE/VCs based in Luxembourg do hire interns, but I have only seen a maximum of 5 job posts this year and they typically require fluent French or German.  

For Big Four CF positions there, I guess it would be tough to enter as an experienced professional, as you have candidates from all over the city with an extensive Audit/Accounting background trying to break in. On the other hand, you could also enter as a finance grad through a competitive process. 

They typically hire for September/January start and begin the process 2 to 3 months in advance, and sometimes they hire grads through a recruitment day(super day) for the entire following year. So make sure you follow the company website and build your network at least a few months prior.       

Hope someone will find this helpful. 

Anyone has a view on pay differences between Benelux vs LDN / NYC? (and within Benelux, i.e. Brussels vs Amsterdam?)