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We're now seeing a bright recruiting season in investment banking shape up. If the market holds up, hiring this Fall and in 2000 will be spectacular. If.

Overall: Hiring volumes in i-banking this year was even to up. Salaries held and in some cases jumped nicely. It's no longer a head-turner to hear of an MBA package (all-in) at a top bank in the 130K region. There are still plenty of highly stressed twenty-six year olds pulling down $300K+ salaries.

Environment: Financial intermediation in debt and equity capital markets (investment banking) plus the side businesses (M&A, project finance, operations) are all hot in 1999. Securities underwriting volumes this year have been the largest in history. At the same time, we are seeing the hottest M&A year in history. Monster M&A deals like BP/Arco/Amoco and AT&T/Media One are the play of the day.

The stock market in the U.S. is booming; however, Asia is still in "recovery" mode.

Who Did the Hiring in the U.S. Bulge?: Among the U.S. bulge bracket we saw increases in MBA recruiting at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Salomon/Citi and Bear Stearns. Merrill and CSFB even to down. Lehman steady for quant and banking types.

Recruiting Climate in the U.S.: Average. New York real estate is still mightily expensive, reflecting strong bonuses and steady recruiting into the financial services sector. (To say nothing of a banner year in corporate, consulting, media and publishing).

Who Did the Hiring in the European Bulge?: Europe is red hot at the moment (esp. in the City of London). Big recruiters were Warburg Dillon Read, Deutsche Bank, ABN-Amro, Barclays, Dresdner (more in Germany) and CSFB. Other smaller players such Den Danske, BBV and Paribas have also been recruiting selectively. Japanese banks have quietly pulled out.

Recruiting Climate in Europe: Europe is the best place in the world at moment to be looking at investment banking career opportunities. The Financial Times jobs section is absolutely jammed with adverts for analysts/associates and specialists (you have to get the paper in the UK; web version doesn't have the ads). London is THE place to be. Technology market (programmers) softening a bit. Eastern Europe is very mixed. Russia and Ukraine not good. Places like Poland and Hungary doing well.

Germans still ambitious for Frankfurt. Commerzbank, Deutsche, Dresdner all recruiting (but usually through apprenticeship programs). HypoVereinsbank is a new player, looking to grow.

France is a mess at the moment with the BNP, SocGen and Paribas tangle. Expect this to get worked out. Doesn't bode well, but keep in mind that Paribas is a decent bank that will have to keep adding to its staff in time.

Recruiting Climate in Asia: Generally lousy. A recent job advertisement on Bloomberg for an entry level job in Tokyo generated nearly a thousand resume submissions. Disaster at Nikko, Nomura and Sakura. HSBC is very strong and is selectively recruiting. Places like ING/Barings are maintaining and growing presence in markets like the Phillipines. Asia is an unfortunate market in 1999. But hope springs eternal!

Recruiting Climate in Australia/NZ: Very good. The Financial Review carries quite a few investment banking recruiting advertisements. The big U.S. players such as Morgan Stanley and Merrills are growing their presence. The local banks such as NAB and ANZ are looking to strengthen. Deutsche Bank is selling the newly acquired BT Australia which should also cause jockeying and consequent recruiting amongst major players.

Recruiting Climate in Africa: Hoped for growth in places like Egypt and Nigeria still not happening. However, the South Africa market is alive and well. South African players like TD and Hambros are healthy. This market will grow in time, but high rates and a shaky fiscal situation may hamper the market.

Hot Jobs in the U.S.

1. Technology investment banking. Anyone involved in the tech equity and M&A area is absolutely frazzled this year. High deal flow with outstanding market reaction to priceline.com, ebay etc. Places like Morgan Stanley, ML, CSFB, BT Alex Brown are absolutely booming and are recruiting like mad. Now.
2. Structured finance. CBOs, CLOs and synthetic structures are booming. Associated area of credit derivatives is also very strong. Get an internship doing this because they wont teach you much about this area in business school these days.
3. Equity research. The quantity and quality of equity research is ever-improving. There has been high growth in this area with particular demand for MBA-types with interesting industry experience.
4. Operations and Risk Management. There is a stronger focus on risk management everywhere and operational back office people are in strong demand. This is a great entry point for folks who aren't coming out of a top 20 business school.
5. Electronic Trading. A very cool area. It's a lot more than eTrade, Ameritrade etc. Places like DLJ and Merrill are going into electronic debt and equity trading in a big way.
6. Government Bond Trading. Govvies have been the nightmare job area for the last decade. But suddenly it's a hot area again. For one, there's a lot more interest in value in the sector given liquidity differentials that have arisen lately. And, prop trading in governments has been a good business in the last year.
7. Private Client Services: Banking to high net worth individuals is growing in the US. Big players include Goldman, JP Morgan and Brown Brothers Harriman. UBS is looking to grow. A May report in Institutional Investor reads: "UBS is setting the stage for a major U.S. expansion. The push to grow across the States includes forming a dedicated wealth management group in New York and opening four private banking offices by the end of the year, with additional office openings slated for the year 2000. UBS also is looking into a strategic acquisition once it grows the private banking business further, says a senior UBS banker. In addition, UBS, which through its merger with Swiss Bank acquired trust powers, is now equipped to move forward and put those powers into use."

Hot Jobs in Europe

1. Credit Research. There's a huge shortage of people in credit research at the moment as there hasn't been much of a corporate bond market.
2. Bond underwriting. The Euro capital markets are booming with volumes double those of the U.S. Jobs in Debt Capital Markets are widely available.
3. M&A. There's been huge turnover as players like Lehman and Deutsche have been building their advisory sectors in Europe. With emerging hostile takeovers and megadeals like Telecom Italia look for this to continue.
4. High Yield. The high yield market didn't exist in Europe five years ago. It exists today and is growing big time. Lots of jobs there.

Who's Going to be Recruiting in the Next Year in the US?

• Merrill Lynch (comeback time, although there is lots of merger talk)
• Chase (serious about growing investment banking and continuing to recruit in size)
• Goldman Sachs (post-IPO glow will help grow)
• Morgan Stanley (expanding everywhere)
• NationsbancMontgomery/BankAmerica (they are VERY serious this time. Heavy recruiting in New York, San Francisco and Charlotte)
• DLJ (a very profitable high yield operation is basis for growth elsewhere)
• ING Furman Selz (smaller player with huge American ambitions)
• ABN Amro (in Chicago going after middle market clients. good strategy with growth potential).

Who's Going to be Recruiting in the Next Year in Europe?