What is each bank good at?

There is a list of 10-15 banks in the UK that have derivatives trading and quant positions. We can start listing - Barclays, HSBC, Santander, BNP, Citi, BAML, GS, DB etc. I am clueless to what each bank has in terms of strengths and weaknesses. For example, is Barclays strong in derivatives trading, prime brokerage? I've always worked in hedge funds, I sometimes get contacted by banks who claim they have suitable positions but I, for example, wouldn't think of Barclays as much more than a retail bank. At the same time, I wouldn't think GS has any retail divisions (even though they launched Marcus 2 years ago).

Is there a place/guide to what each bank is good at or do they function roughly the same?

1 Comments
 

Non asperiores rerum facilis sunt et sed. Quaerat enim perferendis sed voluptatibus cupiditate porro.

Assumenda atque facere earum atque quasi cupiditate. Ad excepturi quo molestiae deleniti nobis aut omnis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $355
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $193
  • Analysts (235) $177
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (277) $95
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

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...”