[London] Banks with chill hours
I’m currently getting destroyed on multiples live deals / starting to feel really burnt out.
I would like to move down the market, what are the banks with the best work/life balance?
This is only for London
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I’ve heard Harris Williams is quite good?
PWP, Greenhill, Citi are relatively chill
Thank you Intern
Depends on the team. Heard of very long hours at PWP FIG and Rx teams
How chill?
Citi TMT and FIG are extremely sweaty
My friend works in Citi TMT London and one of their associates passed out on the floor from exhaustion. When they came back the next week the staffer told them to try “eating a banana” next time.
Seems about right, out of London EBs PWP and GHL are probably the chillest culture/hours wise, while LAZ and ROTH are the sweatiest (especially ROTH). Out of BBs, I'd say that BofA and Citi are relatively chill (compared to GS/MS). CS also used to be fine culture wise, not sure about UBS
given what happened at Bofa, the Citi staffer should be reported. If people don't push back and agree to working beyond their limits, nothing is gonna change in this industry
Roth Healthcare, Infra and Energy & Power :D
Lol, throw in HL RX for good measure.
HL RX is the most chill for sure.
Hours are usually 9-5….. am
Curious how sweaty is Arma Partners
My ex-roommate worked there. He told me he saw the sunrise from the office at least once a week. Only perk is you have a great view from the shard
A close friend suggests they're insane. Says he regularly pulling 80-100 hr weeks
What bank are you currently at?
Santander
Really? I thought it didn't have much of dealflow and some time ago people here were suggesting Santander as a chill/lifestyle bank.
Bank of London
Frankly speaking I'm looking for the same and didn't find a clear answer. My understanding is this is very group dependent (and market dependent) so naming some bank won't be sufficient as it comes down to the particular group dealflow and overall dynamics. I guess 'weak' groups in MMs are more lifestyle ones, but again I'd suggest networking to find out more about hours because this can't be told easily.
On the other hand, such groups often don't need laterals so that's the problem
I think all FIG, O&G, NatRes, and RX groups are well known for their WLB so this is where I would go. Enjoy the hard earned WLB! Definitely don't go for sponsors, or ECM/DCM these guys work the hardest
HSBC / NOMURA / RBC (certain groups only) / SANTANDER / HARRIS WILLIAMS / STEPHENS
EDIT: Always amusing when the bankers at these places throw MS because they don't like the truth.
For anyone else who perhaps cannot read the room (as the edit above suggests), especially this week , we cannot change culture in this industry if the juniors themselves glamorise or are proud of working insane hours
LMAO people are actually salty that they have work-life balance? "Nooo my bank is soo good we have sooo much more deal flow and that's why I work hours sooo long". Not a flex at all. At your funeral, no one will remember you for the 100 hour work weeks you crammed at fucking Harris Williams when you were 21-24 and throughout your life no one will attribute your bank being better or you being better for working long hours. Just because GS TMT or EVR Tech is pulling 90-100+ hours routinely doesn't make them a better bank, that's just due to necessity. HL M&A is probably similar hours but they're working on the most MM mandates known to man, so obviously this hours shit doesn't have much correlation nor causation on bank quality. This industry needs a catastrophic cultural change.
Some groups at UBS are so bloated at the junior level they literally hang around the whole day, grab the free dinner and go home
which groups?
TMT
Go for one of the smid-cap brokers like Singer Capital Markets, Shore Cap, Peel Hunt etc if you want consistently chill hours... Just don't expect to be paid like a bulge bracket banker if you do chose to go there.
Bank of England has pretty good hours, probably the strongest EB in London as well - not sure why I haven't seen it in the ranking tables before though
what kind of IB does bank of england have? really confused, can't find any info on that
mostly DCM, its biggest client is the government.
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Anyone have knowledge of hours at Gleacher Shacklock?
Morgan Stanley is the chillest bank in Canary Wharf
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