“They Would Never Replace a Citi Banker with One from Wachovia”: Bankers on Why They Will Keep Their Jobs (And Why You Will Not Get One)

by Dan Haley | October 3, 2008 at 11:30 am
Amid all the hoopla about the vice presidential debate, you may have noticed that the Dow tanked again yesterday. Wait, you didn't notice? You were too busy picturing Sarah Palin running naked through the Alaskan wilderness? Well, the Dow dropped around 350 points--in other words, we're back to Monday. Things are looking bleak. But believe it or not, not everyone on Wall Street is going to be fired. Ron, a pseudonymous Ivy grad working at Citibank as an analyst explains why he's confident:
No stop it. I'm not the least bit afraid. They would never replace a citi banker with one from WB (Wachovia Bank). Today, during interviews, when they rejected a kid, they joked that he was "a BofA kind of guy." And BofA (Bank of America) is better than WB.
Bank of America is for losers? Tell us something we don't know. But you know who's really going to be losing out? You, if you're applying for a banking job this year. According to Nathan, another pseudonymous Ivy banker working for a boutique i-bank:
The class of 09' is done. They can kiss their banking/trading careers goodbye. Let's just say [unnamed bulge bracket i-bank] analyst class this yr was around 70 kids. In 07, it was around 130 kids. This yr (09') I predict around 30-40 kids at most.
After the jump, Nathan tells us why he will also keep his job.
Nathan says:
I'm not particularly concerned....yet.

Being at a boutique does shield me from all this mess right now because a lot of the big banks have very bad balance sheets and this where a lot of the trouble originates. A boutique bank does not have a balance sheet and instead relies on pure advisory (M&A, restructuring, fairness opinions, etc) to make money.

Big banks underwrite securities and need a balance sheet to win deals ( since they no only provide advisory but also capital raising ).

But if anyone is getting the ax, it's going to be those lazy vice-presidents. Nathan says:

usually, analyst would not get fired since we are cheap labor ( unless you are at lehman, merrill, or bank of america). Associates and VPs (vice presidents) have the most risk. VPs are basically glorified associates who haven't made "tenure" or MD (managing director) status. They are very costly to the firm.

Glorified associates? Burn!

Back to dreaming about romantic hunting trips with Sarah Palin.

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2 Responses to ““They Would Never Replace a Citi Banker with One from Wachovia”: Bankers on Why They Will Keep Their Jobs (And Why You Will Not Get One)”

  1. uh huh Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Well first of all, Wachovia is not unnecessarily being bought by Citigroup anymore…Wells Fargo is very much in the mix: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahkygyDoazsA&refer=home. And secondly, ranking the “prestige” of banks is pretty silly…kinda like ranking the Ivies! Bear, Lehman and Merrill ibankers are (were?) among the biggest douches on The Street, but their very companies were outlived (so far) by the likes of BofA.

  2. Joe Says:
    October 5th, 2008 at 4:09 am

    A lot of Wall Street professionals are exiting the Investment Banking career. They know that the lifestyle and the jobs with fat bonuses they had come to expect, albeit with hard work is no longer going to be the same. They will be forced to take jobs with mid-market and boutique banks. These banks will not offer them the heights of anything in terms of bonuses and perks that they were used to at the bulge bracket firms. For those who had been lucky enough to hang on to their jobs or get re-absorbed at JP Morgan & Goldman Sachs will also see much lower bonus amounts and silent attrition. Only the best will probably retain similar status as they had prior to when all this crisis started.

    The Ivy League institutions which graduate the brightest and smartest of those seeking a career in Investment Banking are also forced to quickly adapt to the changing circumstances. Their career offices are scrambling to put forth guidance and counseling for those final year students whose offers have suddenly been rescinded and having to face off questions from incumbent graduates of the next year’s graduating class.

    All ex Wall Street professionals are strongly encouraged to brainstorm career strategies and options at xwallstreeters.com. Feel free to contribute your advice and suggestion for this new future in Investment Banking.

    - by Blogger at
    xwallstreeters.com

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