Hello all,
I am currently deciding between two offers, both from regional commercial banks (~$10B in Assets). One offer is less money and offers a formal credit training program, while the second is a lot more money, but with no credit training. The goal is to move into a LevFin role down the line, but I am wondering how valuable the credit training is, and what kind of weight it holds.
Appreciate the help.
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Valuable question. I think I can answer it. As I'm attempting to do something similar expect from a much bigger international bank. I don't know what credits you will work with so things may be different.
1) credit isn't that complicated. It's mostly understanding legal jargon, what covenants mean and how they are measured either binary (do they have a lien on their assets?) or more of a spectrum (leverage/coverage), what type of facility you are dealing with, what constitutes an event of default, and how best to navigate everything else.
Maybe takes 10 hours to "get it" and then just reading credit agreements to familiarize with industries and boiler plate stuff (this will take longer but can be done on the job). If you have in house legal, they can help you. Seniors will also know a thing or two
2) Experience will matter more in interviews. Riskier credits are more interesting. I deal with F500 TL and revolvers, this has hurt me in the few interviews I've done. You'll want interesting credits. Having modeling experience will be a plus, even if its just FCF projections or a simple operating model.
Also, what type of financing is important. Acquisition financing > bread and butter facilities. Its more interesting
And, Lead arranger >>> participant (idk if you are syndicating these facilities). more responsibility=more/better experience
3) credit/corp banking is also a lot more garbage than anyone lets on. Lots of process driven and monitoring work. I suggest picking a role that limits this. Money is important but so is sanity.
TL;DR - it most likely won't matter. choose experience and learn on your own time.
DId you do CB before IB?
It does depend on the bank- however, the formal credit training is a huge plus on your resume. It will give you an advantage for any credit and a lot of lending jobs. You will also learn a lot more that way than getting thrown into a new process. If it’s a training class, that will be more enjoyable with colleagues your age that are going through the same thing, compared to being the only person on the team who has no clue what’s going on.
Define how much more money.
If you have little to no experience, I’d absolutely go with the formal credit training. Unless you have good teachers and lots of flow, your learning curve could take forever.
Credit is very nuanced. Formal learning helps immensely.
I appreciate all the comments and will try to make this a bit easier to understand. Because these roles are with banks about 10B in assets, many of the deals that flow through are your bread and butter, TLs & Revolvers with the occasional interest rate swap. The banks tries to stay away from levered transactions as much as possible, and I was told from senior bankers that management does not believe syndicated/participation deals are the way to grow the loan portfolio.
In terms of money, the bank with no formal credit training is offering $10k more base salary.
$10k is not worth it. Go with the training program. You will also be recognized better within the bank when considered for promotions.
Just wanted to give you all an update. I went with the bank with the training program. Hopefully I can get the skills I need and move on to a bigger bank a few years down the road. Appreciate the help.
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