We need a corporate banking forum

I've noticed a lot of increased interest in corporate banking on this site in the last year or so-- anyone else think a dedicated forum page could be a good idea to foster some more discussion on the subject and keep other pages on topic? As a CB analyst myself I can attest its a significant part of the street and a lot of people are working in this industry, obviously IB and PE are the focus of WSO but I'd argue CB is just as relevant as a lot of other pages (corp dev, ER, AM, etc). Just a thought-- also while I have you CB guys, any bonus numbers for analysts at the BBs that just paid??

47 Comments
 

I would also appreciate this. Just started in corporate banking at WF working with ABSs and definitely confused about the dynamic of these subindustries, especially because WF uses 'Corporate & Investment Banking' to describe the division.

 

From a technical perspective I doubt it will be anything you haven't learned in IB, modeling for credit analysis doesn't go far beyond basic projections, sources and uses, repayment/cash sweep modeling. The other thing about credit analysis is reading and understanding the CAs but you're probably fine with legal stuff from IB, can be tricky at first but just needs reps so I guess you could check out a couple examples on EDGAR. Helps to understand the capIQ plugin/advanced excel since you will have to make a crapload of trackers and stuff for clients, sure its the same in IB again. Also at a large bank that is leading a lot of deals there is a light cap markets aspect to the job (but you're mostly just inviting other big banks that have the same clients already to join your syndicate, a lot of the time they already know about the deal when we call them) so you should have an understanding of the state of the IG loan market...where things are pricing, covenants, etc. However I will say the pricing aspect is something we are still figuring out right now after the switch to SOFR...pesky credit spread adjustments. I would expect your interview would also have a lot of questions about their specific industry-- most corporate banking teams are coverage.

 

ive been saying this for fucking ages. Also, this isnt the first time a thread like this has come up- I remember a thread exactly like this a few months ago, and everyone agreed that we need a CB forum, but nothing ever happened. Please, AndyLouis , do something

 

Forum defo needs: corp / comm banking, quant finance, physical commods, PWM / PB, VC, GE, PD, Infra, Secondaries, Structured Fin / ABS, fund allocator / investment consulting, TAS and insurance sub-forums.

These are all v significant financial careers that aren’t being catered to at all currently. 

 

There’s more than enough interest in all of those to sustain their own subs. 

If this place wants to be an actual destination for finance careers then they may as well include the full range of career paths. It’s not like any of these are niche industries either. 

 

I've been saying - either add this CB/Lending forum or just add flair features so that people can tag their posts as CB within the IB forum since corporate banking is typically grouped in house with IB at most large banks anyways. 

STONKS
 
Most Helpful

This is probably my ignorance as I've never worked in CB, but wanted to play devil's advocate a bit this morning...

- How is CB so differentiated from the content in IB and CF that it warrants a forum? Could you argue CB is adjacent to IB as most of the time CB is under the larger IB umbrella?

- If CB is differentiated (and I can see the supporting arguments for it), then should it be a CB/Fixed Income or Debt or Lending as--IMO--they kinda go hand-in-hand

- When does the granularity end? Should there be a Credit forum? Macro Research? Middle-Office? Venture Capital? Family Office? Financial Advisors/Brokers? At some point, you drill in too far and dilute the forums/cause confusion. Not saying this is right/fair, but something to consider 

- Could it be possible to just add a tag for CB topics instead of making a new forum?

 

Hey, I actually just signed on for their FT program as CB analyst. Anyway we could talk more? Im trying to really know what to expect when I graduate. Theres not a lot of info about SMBC around outside of their M&A division. 

 

Its not as robust as IB because the attrition rate from analyst to associate is low enough that they don't really need as many people stepping in at the associate level. You will definitely see opportunities at the biggest CB players though, the type of "corporate banking" you probably are looking for is under the IB umbrella so it would be part of that recruiting process for Wells, JPM, anywhere that calls it "CIB" just make sure you end up in some sort of coverage or debt product group, that's what I would call corporate banking (as opposed to cap markets and M&A). However something that I think is interesting is the associate to VP promotion rate is a lot lower and a common path is IB associate to corporate banking VP, I see a lot of guys with this resume at my shop and this is a pretty sweet move considering VP is where you start to enjoy the relationship management focus of corporate banking (if that's your thing). I think you could potentially swing this materially earlier than you would be getting the IB VP promotion. So if you can grind it out you will be a good candidate for a more senior position-- but also at a top MBA I am sure you can get into a BB as associate, it just might not be as clear cut as the IB pipeline.

 

Incoming CB analyst and I saw that you said that the associate to vp promotion is much lower. So where do most of those associates go? And why is it so low?

 

Est eos illo corrupti eius incidunt et mollitia. Amet et possimus aspernatur voluptas veritatis omnis. Fugit ab dolor quaerat voluptas earum officiis repellat. Cupiditate rerum eos in.

Deleniti porro vitae repudiandae repellendus unde delectus. Minima quis fugiat non ut. Ipsum quam saepe eum velit.

 

Animi qui officiis et recusandae sed. Ut et autem vel aut id dolor nostrum. Et explicabo perspiciatis animi facilis ratione occaecati. Ullam inventore corporis unde quod perferendis rem vel.

Id deleniti facere nihil necessitatibus enim. Aut fuga autem assumenda. Sapiente distinctio eos aspernatur dolores earum. Repudiandae cumque aperiam dolorem a dolorum. Sit voluptas a quos.

 

Possimus aperiam reiciendis deserunt. Enim et nisi culpa et soluta minus consequatur dolorum. Eum error odit exercitationem voluptates est. Placeat veniam qui facilis perferendis illum qui odio praesentium. Rerum architecto occaecati atque aut quaerat voluptas.

Consectetur itaque in praesentium placeat debitis et odit. Voluptate soluta cum nostrum hic quibusdam necessitatibus.

Quia autem molestiae repellendus. Amet eum quo id provident et corrupti. Deleniti consequatur ea in et sed rerum.

Explicabo error voluptatem eum quidem neque id. Aliquam dolores natus quibusdam. Veniam sit modi quo minus dolorem blanditiis. Velit est sit ipsam. Consequuntur dolor aliquam aut consequatur qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”