Which offer should I take? RBS or Nomura?

I got two offers, one is Royal Bank of Scotland, algo trading analyst; the other is Nomura, Equities Sales.... Which one should I take? I know algo trading is very hot now, but it's like narrow down...while equities sales can easily move to other positions.... Anyone has some suggestions? Thanks.

18 Comments
 

I actually like both, I have worked in both desks....what I am concern more is about the future.... In terms of brand name, which one is better? I am not sure how much brand name will affect my later job hunting....

still learning
 

Um, you guys in the US don't understand quite how much of a shit-show RBS is... think Citi x 10 in terms of how screwed the institution is. 84% state owned! Hello!!!!!

I would never work for RBS, not in a million years.

From the ghetto....
 

I actually am not sure how much it will affect individual after it's 84% owned by government....think Merill was also bought by Bank of America...but nothing much changed inside....hmm....i might be wrong....

still learning
 
naxisI actually am not sure how much it will affect individual after it's 84% owned by government....think Merill was also bought by Bank of America...but nothing much changed inside....hmm....i might be wrong....

You make a good point, so many people on this site make such a big deal over how well a bank is performing when in reality it has just about zero effect on the life of the analyst. Furthermore, as an analyst looking into exit ops, nobody is going to blame you for your bank sucking. Your analyst experience, skills and compensation will basically be the same no matter how your bank does (with the only exception being deal flow, which will have something of an effect). Also, it's still prestigious to get into ANY of these places, it's not like anybody can just wake up one morning and decide to work for RBS, there is such crazy over demand for these jobs. I'm tired of people saying how you shouldn't work for Citi because X factor isn't in their favor, or that working for UBS is like a death knell.

That being said, I make a special exception for RBS. RBS is fucked at such a high level that it's practically on its death bed. The bonus structure is horrendous, and there are rumors swirling (rumors mind you) that they will scrap cash bonuses altogether, even for analysts (and replace with stock bonuses). When you take also into account recent UK government laws governing the compensation structure of investment banks, I can only say that unless you have no other offers, stay far far away from RBS.

 

BAML got rid of any government stake, RBS on the otherhand is still as screwed as AIG in the US and majority owned by the government.

I would take Nomura which is up and coming and working hard to build its franchise, rather than RBS which is unlikely to ever get back to where it once was.

The Macro View http://themacroview.wordpress.com
 
Best Response

Dude

I am serious - I live and work in London. RBS is a familiar beast, and it is one that is so fatally wounded that I can promise you your experience will never be as good as even Nomura. Why? The talent is / has left RBS in droves. The bank can't hold on to anyone good and the UK government has no idea how to influence the management of the business.

Citi is the closest analogue but, as I said before, nowhere, and I mean nowhere, near as bad. You must remember - RBS as a markets business was never BB quality anyway - it was built off the back of Natwest Markets and ABN AMRO primarily (although feel free to correct me re. US businesses). This was not on a par with any of the other Europeans (ABN arguably was ok) but most certainly not in the same league as the big US players.

Nomura is a safer bet, a growing business, no major institutional risk (yet) and willing to pay for talent.

From the ghetto....
 
Tier2StaDude

I am serious - I live and work in London. RBS is a familiar beast, and it is one that is so fatally wounded that I can promise you your experience will never be as good as even Nomura. Why? The talent is / has left RBS in droves. The bank can't hold on to anyone good and the UK government has no idea how to influence the management of the business.

Citi is the closest analogue but, as I said before, nowhere, and I mean nowhere, near as bad. You must remember - RBS as a markets business was never BB quality anyway - it was built off the back of Natwest Markets and ABN AMRO primarily (although feel free to correct me re. US businesses). This was not on a par with any of the other Europeans (ABN arguably was ok) but most certainly not in the same league as the big US players.

Nomura is a safer bet, a growing business, no major institutional risk (yet) and willing to pay for talent.

This should be the standard answer to all questions regarding working at RBS from now on, just insert "random bank name" in place of "Nomura"

 

my both offer are in Hong Kong....but I think I've already got an idea...thanks again

I have a follow up question, what about the "hot" algo trading desk in RBS? what if I work here for some time first (1year-2year?) and move to other good banks?

still learning
 

Nomura is the only company I know of where the CEO of European Operations (Sadeq Sayeed), himself, did the presentation for on-campus recruiting. That was awesome.

I wish I had gotten the chance to interview there.

 

They appointed Jesse Bhattal as president of the wholesale division, but the appointment is just a charade to stop the blood letting of ex-Lehman bankers. Nomura culture outside of Japan offices is much like the Lehman era particularly in HK and London however.

That said, I would take Nomura over RBS.

I know a bunch of top execs at RBS that went to Nomura, BNP here in Tokyo.

So if RBS top heads are going to Nomura that should tell you something.

 

Impedit vel dolorem commodi ullam perferendis. Veniam minima eum ut quibusdam rerum. Illo et quaerat facilis. Numquam fugiat unde natus. Sit placeat nesciunt qui quam aut et. Incidunt ullam eum quidem molestiae.

Ipsa consequatur molestiae aliquid id ex vel enim molestias. Temporibus praesentium aut voluptatum ex quis. Non dolor culpa iusto eligendi pariatur ad praesentium. Molestias quibusdam vel quaerat. Nisi est et et debitis quos expedita odio.

Officia laborum beatae temporibus vitae odio. Omnis facere optio tenetur iure quisquam voluptatem. Aut doloremque officia aut et veniam hic ut.

Beatae consequatur necessitatibus dicta nostrum et. Culpa quod unde consequatur earum voluptas quis non beatae. Provident sed architecto veniam assumenda iste voluptatem dignissimos consequatur. Dolores qui quibusdam fugit. Occaecati voluptas harum doloremque. Illo alias odit eos nulla. Ratione officia expedita veritatis deleniti est beatae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”