Investment Banking Summer Analyst Review

by Bank of America

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.7/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    3.6
  • The Culture
    3.5

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • It was a great experience being involved in ongoing projects and meeting inspiring people from with different background. Throughout the internship, a lot of events were organized to discover all the teams in a more casual ambiance and the HR team organized events in amazing places like the British Museum. We were given a good basic training, always useful.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I had the chance to be seated in a team, which gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people every time they were around from juniors to seniors. Being with them gave me a broader view of their daily tasks and the culture of their team, which could have been different should I have been elsewhere, In every project I took part in, the people always valued my input, from mundane tasks to deeper comments. This is something I truly appreciated as being at the bottom of the command chain could mean less responsibility. This is clearly not the case here.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • My buddy and my mentor gave me a clear and unbiased view of their experience here. I do believe this is one of the most important features of this program as talking on a daily basis to this kind of people is key to get a sense of the culture of the bank. I got introduced to a lot of people and enjoyed spending time with them to discuss their experience. When it comes to projects, everyone was always available to discuss specific points for me to get a bigger picture or understand technical aspects.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • The first week of training was a good way to start and things got exciting after hitting my desk. The first weeks were quite busy on several projects from different teams and I hit more than once the 10pm curfew, knowing I still had a lot to do the next morning. From August things got quieter, as I was staffed on two live projects that required multiple daily tasks without being overwhelming.

    3/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I do believe the 10pm curfew is a drawback in terms of responsibility as the juniors and seniors know we have to leave whether the job is done or not. Sure it is a great lesson in terms of scheduling but it is also quite annoying to leave the job unfinished. Beside this, I was given great responsibility in a project in particular, as an analyst was supposed to work between me and the associate but did not as they saw I was able to handle the workload on m y own.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The technical training we received was more of a reminder and I do not think it changed the way I saw things. On a daily basis, working on financial modeling and being able to ask as many questions as I can to experienced people was a great achievement and helped me understanding complex topics from capital raising to debt issuance. This internship is also the opportunity to go and meet new people from different background and positions. This is clearly where I learnt the most, talking with them and listening to their story.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The atmosphere changes completely between the teams.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The internship was well organised with lots of events and conferences to attend giving a broader view of the organisation as a whole. The HR team was very responsive and keen on helping, which is always great to know. Everyone was more than happy to discuss and to introduce me to different people. The midterm review was useful to get a feeling towards our involvement and our progress and fix the mistakes we did.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • Beside the first week of training, we attended several talks and conferences on specific topics and had to complete a lot of elearning training on different topics from compliance to risks. I do believe we could get more training with weekly sessions on specific topics (e.g. LBO modelling, Merger Model modelling, Comps, etc.). I also believe a team long-term project could be a good opportunity to widen our skills and to present our work in front of senior people.

    3/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Company Parties/Events

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • 4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • 4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • London is one of the most expensive place in the world and the St Paul's area is no exception. There is a lot of options to get food and drinks but it was often pricey for the experience you got. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch got a great cantine with a wide choice but pricey if you eat more than a salad. The central location is a plus if you want to go out as you can get everywhere in a short amount of time.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • n.a.

    4/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • During our first week of training we took part in a community day cleaning the banks of a canal in North London. It was a great experience to meet other interns and give back to the community. Bank of America Merrill Lynch also has an extended choice of networks people can take part in but I felt it was not that easy for an European white guy to got involved in them. People from different teams also organised a lot of activities and asking and getting to know them better opened a lot of doors from playing football to drinking beers after work.

    4/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

London

August 2016


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