Internship in Lev. Fin at medium German Bank or in Corporate Finance Advisory at Commerzbank?

Hi all!

I got two offers for an internship in Frankfurt this week and I don't know which one to choose. So I'm asking you for advice.

The first offer is at IKB Deutsche Industriebank ( a bank that had a bailout during the crisis and had major troubles) in Leveraged finance & Sponsor Coverage. In spite of the small size they were MLAs in transactions with important PEs, like Blackstone, KKR and Advent. The problem is they didn't say anything about future job offers and I'm not so sure if the name is usable for applications at BBs and other banks in London or PEs.

The second is at Commerzbank in the corporate finance Advisory division, which advises companies on which IB product to use. I would have exposure on many different transactions, but only from a general point of view. But on the other side they told me, if they like me during the internship I could be accepted in the graduate program.

I like first one more, but I think that Commerzbank may provide a better name on the CV. In both cases I will apply in summer/autumn to all graduate programs offered by IBs, but in the second case I will have more safety.
Which one would you choose and why? And do you think that the first one could be a good starting point to get into a PE in the future?

Thank you in advance!

3 Comments
 

both banks are good in my opinion; Commerzbank is a more well known brand and could position you better when applying to IB roles at different banks

IKB is also a good choice - you could get selected for LevFin group at some of the major BB's, especially if you got some great transactional work during the internship; maybe even PE firms if that is what interests you and you have a strong profile it is also good for general roles, dunno

i would probably go with Commerzbank, its a nice place to work at in Frankfurt

 

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