SA Help: UBS vs. BNP vs. MM IB

Hi guys. I've been searching through here for awhile, but finally need some advice for my own path. I'm from a decent semi-target and have been fortunate enough to get a few summer analyst offers through either OCR or alumni networking. Here are my 3 offers to consider (all in New York):
1. UBS ECM
2. BNP Paribas Structure Finance
3. Decent MM (similar to a Oppenheimer or Cowen) in the firm's top industry group.

Any advice or ranking of these three options would be great. I'm not very concerned with pay, but does anyone have any insight into if there would be any differences at the analyst level at these three spots as they are all separate IBD functions. Also- I'm not sure what I plan on doing in the long term, but I am possibly considering either getting my MBA or moving straight to PE after a few years. Would any of these three options help me better than the others for these goals? Thanks for the input, I'd be happy to work at any of these places, just wanted to hear some more experienced opinions.

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Best Response

I would go with BNP (I am biased since I accepted BNP SA)- firstly its a global banking group, in fact one of the top 3 biggest banks in the world. Their CIB (corporate and investment banking) is rapidly expanding in North America, starting with their heavy undergrad recruiting at targets and semi-targets. Their reputation is growing in America (stellar worldwide), and their pay is on par with street so I would not worry about compensation. Their growth prospects are something that I would really consider as compared to UBS- UBS is winding down their investment banking operations. In addition, their structured finance team is one of the best in the industry, so I would not worry about the deal exposure

 

I'd be concerned about UBS. Even if you have a great summer, 3 years out in IBD is shaky for them. Also, ECM is terrible for exit ops. BNP - i know a guy in that group. work/life is good; comp is crappy. structured finance is one of their stronger groups as mentioned above, but its still BNP. I might actually go with MM IBD if you rly like the ppl and the group...

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