Have really good connections at these banks and was wondering which one would be a great place to intern at. All positions for NYC except Stout which is in Chicago.Would appreciate any points.
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I would personally say Nomura and BNPP are probably the bigger ones on the list.
However, there LevFin groups are the big group they don’t do much M&A.
Btw Nomura did a huge ass speedway deal recently.
Nomura: LevFin, Sponsor, Greentech
BNPP: good culture overall, but I’m pretty sure they don’t have a strong M&A presence
SG: good culture, Natural Resources
TD: good culture
Mizuho: pretty much debt deals
CIBC/Stout: weak
All those banks besides Stout tend to use balance sheet and involve heavily on debt deals. Stout operates more like a big 4 rather than traditional investment banks.
OP here, thanks for the detailed response. How would you rate the culture at Nomura?
Greentech has a very sweaty culture but exits and deal flows are great. M&A culture is pretty bad and there are a lot of pitches going on. Don’t know much about others.
Do you say that about Stout because they also have an advisory and valuation practice? From what I've seen/heard, their IB group operates independently form these as a traditional sell-side advisor
The Big 4 also have independent IB groups which are also weak. I wouldn't consider Stout at all given the rest of the names on the list.
Could you provide more reasoning or credibility for why you're saying this? M&A tombstones look solid on their website and I've heard great things about culture and WLB (in wso company database). I have no bias, just legitimately curious. Thanks
I know nothing about their culture / WLB, not disputing that at all. The issue is where they are in the market / deal flow. Stout is lower middle market. They aren't competing with the other banks on the list, but rather regional boutiques and other LMM firms. Do they list transaction size or fees on any of those tombstones? They are doing small deals for small fees. The other banks on the list are also in more lines of business which offers more fee opportunities and experience. Name brand is also important. You will have a much easier time lateralling from most of the other firms listed rather than Stout. The one positive for Stout is that they are more M&A focused than the others on the list, which may help you in interviews if you are lateraling to an M&A heavy shop, but honestly, if I am hiring I am interviewing analysts from the other firms ahead of Stout.
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Yeah no. Their Power and Utilities group is objectively bad.
Would say Nomura and BNPP first, then TD, then CIBC
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