Banking interns lament a summer of terrible job offers, except in trading

Not all investment banks have made their offers to the students who interned with them this summer, but among those who have, it seems to have been a sorry time.

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Students in London tell us that very few people seem to have converted investment banking division internships (in M&A and capital markets) into offers to return full time after graduation. 

“Conversion rates are bleak across the board this year,” says one banking intern. “Some of my super competent friends haven’t received offers and there’s a lot of anxiety.” Another student says none of his friends in investment banking internships received offers this year. “Banks are still waiting for deals to come back,” said one. Goldman Sachs is eternally optimistic that this will happen soon. 

The summer’s apparently low offer rates are accompanied by lamentation and desperation. Students tell us that one European bank allegedly worked its interns for 100 hours a week before declaring that it had no full-time places at the end of the internship. Another bank is said to have begun handing out offers mid-way through, causing panic among those who didn’t get them. “The market is very tight,” says one student, speaking off the record. 

Some banks, however, are thought to have converted a higher proportion of this year’s interns than others. At Barclays, Citi and Japanese banks, conversions were allegedly higher than elsewhere. 

Students working in markets teams seem to have been more lucky. After a busy summer, offers to interns on fixed income trading teams in particular seem to have been higher. One student at a top London university says they were as high as 75% across the board. 

Banks like Goldman Sachs and Lazard have yet to issue offers to interns even though the internships are over. This has become standard practice, and may act in students’ favour if deals pick up as hoped while they mull their decisions.

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