Top 50 Investment Banks - Which Investment Bank Should You Apply To?

You're going to love this! To save you time in applying for jobs, I've collated links that take you directly to the recruitment section of the top 50 investment banks' websites. I list the top 20 then the next 30, each group is in alphabetical order.
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TOP 20 INVESTMENT BANKS (in alphabetical order)
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) is the corporate and investment banking arm of Bank of America. Headquartered in New York City, they are a large full-service investment bank with offices all over the globe.

​Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in 2009. Following this acquisition, in 2010, they made the second highest revenue of any investment bank in the world and number one in the USA

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Get A Job At BAML

​Barclays Capital

​Barclays Capital is the investment banking arm of Barclays plc. Headquartered in London, they are a large full-service investment bank with offices in over 29 countries. In 2008, when Lehman collapsed they acquired many of Lehman's US assets thus increasing their presence in North America by a significant margin. 

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Get A Job At Barclays

​BNP Paribas

​BNP Paribas is headquartered in Paris with a second global headquarters in London. You might not have heard of them but in 2010 they were actually ranked as the largest bank by assets according to Bloomberg and Forbes (with $3 trillion in assets).

In 2011, BNP remained the world's biggest bank by total assets as seen in this article by Global Finance. After acquiring a 75% stake in Fortis Bank in 2009, BNP became the largest bank in the eurozone by deposits held.

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Get A Job At BNP Paribas

Citi Investment Bank

​Citigroup is one of the world's largest banks with some presence in over 140 countries. The current entity is a product of one of the world's largest mergers that combined Citicorp and Travelers group in 1998. They suffered massively during the 2007-2009 credit crunch but ultimately survived the whirl winds.

For each region where they operate, the Citi website has a descriptive page explaining the programs available in that region. 

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Get A Job At Citi Investment Bank

Crédit Agricole

​Headquartered in Paris, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) has some presence in 58 countries.

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Get A Job At Crédit Agricole

Credit Suisse

​Headquartered in Zurich (Switzerland), Credit Suisse has a presence in 50 countries.

I do try to remain neutral in these profile but I am positively impressed by the Credit Suisse careers section. It's very well structured, easy to navigate and filled with information.

Select the desired country before exploring the career opportunities.

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Get A Job At Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank

​Headquartered in Frankfurt (Germany), Deutsche Bank has a presence in over 70 countries.

​According to Euromoney, Deutsche was the top FX dealer in 2009 for the fifth year in a row with a 21% market share. More recent surveys are available but require a subscription to access.

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Get A Job At Deutsche Bank

Goldman Sachs

​Headquartered in New York City and initially founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs has a presence in every major financial center in the world. 

Use the links below to get to the recruitment section that you need. 

Having worked as an IBD Analyst at Goldman Sachs for two years myself, I can vouch for them as a great employer. Get your application in right away. In addition to the link below make sure you peruse the site thoroughly because they periodically also offer off-cycle and other 'non-standard' programs.

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Get A Job At Goldman Sachs

​HSBC

​Headquartered in London, HSBC has a presence in over 85 countries. HSBC's routes lie in Hong Kong and Shanghai but after its acquisition of UK's Midland Bank in 1991, HSBC has positioned itself as a British bank with a global presence. 

Its Asian roots uniquely positioned HSBC to participate in interesting emerging market transactions during the worst of the 2007-2009 credit crunch immediately diversifying their business away from faltering developed economies.  

With just under five years of experience in HSBC's Derivatives Structuring business I can definitely say that you will enjoy a varied and broad career at HSBC. 

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Get A Job At HSBC

Intesa San Paolo

Headquartered in Turin (Italy), Intesa Sanpaolo is the product of a merger between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI in 2007.

They currently have a corporate and investment banking division in c.39 countries.

​Investment banking revenue forms only about 20% of the group's revenues at the moment. Intesa Sanpaolo is very much a European bank with over 90% of revenues coming from Europe and over three-quarters of that is still from Italian business.

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Get A Job At Intesa San Paolo

JP Morgan

​Headquartered in New York City, JP Morgan is the largest bank in the US by assets and market cap according to Forbes' 2011 list of the 2,000 largest publicly listed companies. HSBC was second on this list. 

The JP Morgan's careers site is filled with information so in addition to using the below link make sure you look around the site for more tips.

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Get A Job At JP Morgan

Mizuho Financial Group

​Headquartered in Tokyo, Mizuho is the third largest bank in Japan after Mitsubishi UFG and Sumitomo Mitsui FG. Mizuho is the product of a 2001 merger of three other Japanese banks.

The English version of their careers website is still very basic. If you read Japanese, however, you're in luck, that section seems to be packed with information.

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Get A Job At Mizuho Financial Group

​Morgan Stanley

​Headquartered in New York City and initially founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley has a presence in 42 countries. 

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Get A Job At Morgan Stanley

RBC Capital Markets

​Headquartered in Toronto (Canada) RBC Capital is huge but is regionally concentrated; they operate across 15 countries in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe (including the UK).

​By market cap, RBC is the 10th largest major bank globally on the 2011 Forbes 2000 list. 

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Get A Job At RBC Capital Markets

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

​Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland RBS is a commercial bank with a significant investment banking division.

In addition to a summer internship program, take note that RBS also offers winter and spring (Easter) programs in London and Europe.

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Get A Job At RBS

Société Générale (SocGen)

​Headquartered in Paris, SocGen is one of Europe's oldest banks with origins dating back to 1864.  

​It is the second largest French bank after BNP Paribas. SocGen Corporate & Investment Banking is the investment banking arm of SocGen.

The SocGen careers site has generic role description pages. You will need to specify your region and role of interest in the application form. Get your magnifying glass out, however, the font size on the website is tiny!

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Get A Job At Société Générale (SocGen)

​UBS

​Headquartered in Zurich & Basel (Switzerland), UBS was founded in 1854 and has offices in over 50 countries.

​UBS is mostly recognised as an asset management powerhouse but also has a significant investment banking division.

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Get A Job At UBS

Unicredit

​Headquartered in Rome & Milan (Italy), Unicredit can trace its roots all the way back to 1473. The current entity is a product of many historical mergers.

Unicredit has a significant capital markets division but a relatively smaller corporate finance unit. Investment banking activities are located in London, Milan, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Warsaw

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Get A Job At Unicredit

Wells Fargo

​Headquartered in San Francisco (USA) and founded in 1852, Wells Fargo is the largest US bank by market cap.

The Wells Fargo careers site for the US is a lot more developed than their international site.

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Get A Job At Wells Fargo

WestLB

​Headquartered in Düsseldorf (Germany), West LB has some capital markets activity as well as a corporate finance division.

Currently the WestLB careers site is focused on Germany and highly generic so please excuse the paucity of links below.

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Get A Job At WestLB

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​NEXT 30 INVESTMENT BANKS

Agricultural Bank of China (in alphabetical order)

When it comes to commercial banking, Chinese banks are huge. China is growing rapidly and Chinese consumers are growing ever more sophisticated. Some expect that the next spate of large investment banks will be Chinese. I have to agree. Many Chinese banks are already moving up investment banking league tables. 

Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Beijing, Agricultural Bank of China is one of the "Big Four" banks in China. They went public in mid-2010; they were the last of the "Big Four" to do so. Agricultural Bank of China is so called because they were established to serve the large farming population in China.

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Get A Job At ABoC

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)

​Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is one of the "Big Four" banks in Australia along with Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac. 

​Founded in 1835, ANZ has its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. Recruitment is generally focused on Australia and New Zealand.

​I love the rockstar theme of their recruitment pages though, according to ANZ, "When it comes to your career, who you choose for your first gig is everything." Love it.

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Get A Job At Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)

Banco Popolare

​Banco Popolare was established in 2007 from the merger of two Italian banks: Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara and Banca Popolare Italiana.

You might find capital markets roles here. That said, unfortunately, the recruitment process is not explained in any detail, the recruitment site goes almost immediately to an application form.

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Get A Job At Banco Popolare

Bank of China

Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Beijing, Bank of China is one of the "Big Four" banks in China.

It is also the oldest bank in China. BOC opened their first overseas branch in London in 1929 and their first New York branch in 1981. 

​They first went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2002. 

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Get A Job At Bank of China

Bayern LB

​Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Munchen (Germany), Bayern LB is one of the ten largest banks in Germany.

To apply to Bayern LB you need to be a fluent German speaker, according to their website. I guess that makes sense because they are trying to serve German speaking customers.

​There doesn't appear to be a corporate finance function at Bayern but you could get good capital markets exposure.

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Get A Job At Bayern LB

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)

​Formed by a merger between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria in 1999, BBVA is headquartered in Bilbao (Spain).

​The bank can trace its roots all the way back to 1857. After a major expansion overseas BBVA now operates in over 30 countries.

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Get A Job At Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)

BMO Capital Markets

​Formed from the acquisition of Nesbitt Thomas in 1987, BMO Capital Markets is headquartered in Toronto (Ontario, Canada).

BMO is very much an investment bank with both a fully fletched corporate finance department and a full capital markets offering.

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Get A Job At BMO Capital Markets

China Construction Bank (CCB)

Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Beijing, China Construction Bank is one of the "Big Four" banks in China.

CCB only recently started expanding abroad: they opened a London office in 2-Jun-09 and a New York office a few days later on 6-Jun-09. Investment banking functions were added a couple of years later.

​Bank of America bought a 9% stake in CCB in 2005 but in order to raise cash in 2011 they decided to sell a large portion of their shares.

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Get A Job At China Construction Bank (CCB)

CIBC World Markets

​Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). CIBC is a commercial bank and its investment banking arm is CIBC World Markets.

​CIBC World Markets has grown through a series of acquisitions that have included US-based Oppenheimer & Co. and the Canadian brokerage Woody, Gundy & Co.

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Get A Job At CIBC World Markets

China International Capital Corp (CICC)

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Beijing, CICC is more investment banking focused than the Big Four (AgBank, BOC, CCB and ICBC).

​CICC was started as a JV between various parties including Morgan Stanley. They sold their stake to a group of private equity investors including GIC, KKR and TPG capital in 2010/11.

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Get A Job At China International Capital Corp (CICC)

​Citic Securities International

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Shenzhen in the Guangdong district of China, Citic Securities like (CICC) is more investment banking focused than the Big Four (AgBank, BOC, CCB and ICBC). Citic Securities listed on the Shanghai stock exchange in 2003.

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Get A Job At Citic Securities International

Commerzbank (Commerz)

​Founded in 1870, Commerzbank is the second largest bank in Germany after Deutsche. Their headquarters is in Frankfurt.

In 2009 they acquired Dresdner Bank which was another large German bank. They have a significant capital markets division, however, corporate finance activities were wound up.

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Get A Job At Commerzbank (Commerz)

Commonwealth Bank (CommBank)

​Commonwealth Bank is one of the "Big Four" banks in Australia along with ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac. 

Originally established as a state-owned bank in 1911, Commonwealth Bank was publicly listed in 1991. They are headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

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Get A Job At Commonwealth Bank (CommBank)

Daiwa Securities

​Headquartered in Tokyo and founded in 1902, Daiwa is Japan's second largest brokerage house after Nomura. 

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Get A Job At Daiwa Securities

DZ Bank

​Headquartered in Frankfurt and founded in the mid-1800s, DZ Bank is one of the five largest banks in Germany.

DZ Bank is a commercial bank with some investment banking activities. They serve a German-speaking client base so you're probably going to need to speak fluent German to work at DZ.

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Get A Job At DZ Bank

Helaba

​Headquartered in Frankfurt and Erfurt (Germany), Helaba was formed from a merger between three separate German banks in 1953. Helaba's origins date back to 1940.

Helaba is a commercial bank with some investment banking activities. They serve a German-speaking client base so you're probably going to need to speak fluent German to work at Helaba.

Currently the careers website combines commercial and investment banking roles. 

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Get A Job At Helaba

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Beijing, ICBC is one of the "Big Four" banks in China. It is the 'youngest' of the Big Four but is the largest bank in the world by market cap; at the time the Forbes 2000 list was constructed its market cap was $239.5bn. HSBC came next with $186.5bn, closely followed by JP Morgan Chase with $182.2bn.

They don't have a dedicated investment banking careers site, it's combined with commercial banking.

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Get A Job At ICBC

​ING

​Headquartered in Amsterdam (Netherlands), ING was formed from a merger in 1991 but the bank can trace its roots all the way back to 1743.

ING has a large international presence with offices in over 40 countries.

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Get A Job At ING

LBBW

​Headquartered in Stuttgart (Germany), Helaba was formed from a merger between three separate German banks in 1999 and a fourth bank BW-Bank in 2005. The bank can trace its roots all the way back to 1818.

LBBW is a commercial bank with some investment banking activities. They serve a German-speaking client base so you're going to need to speak fluent German to work at LBBW.

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Get A Job At LBBW

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International (MUSI)

​Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International (MUSI) is the investment banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).

MUSI was founded in 2005 through a merger and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. They operate a fully-fletched Debt and Equity Capital Markets Business. They do not currently have a corporate finance unit.

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Get A Job At MUFG

National Australia Bank (NAB)

​NAB is one of the "Big Four" banks in Australia along with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac. NAB was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

​They have operations across 10 countries primarily is Australasia but are also located in London. They have some retail banking in the US.

NAB have a thriving debt capital markets division.

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Get A Job At NAB

Natixis

​Founded in 2006, Natixis is headquartered in France. They operate a fully-fletched Debt and Equity Capital Markets Business. They do not currently have a corporate finance unit.

The application form suggests that you can look for opportunities in Paris, New York, Texas, Mexico, Peru and Sao Paulo.

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Get A Job At Natixis

Nomura Securities

​With foundations dating back to 1925, Nomura is headquartered in Japan. They are the leading securities firm in Japan.

They operate both a debt and equity capital markets business as well as a corporate finance unit.

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Get A Job At Nomura Securities

NORD/LB

​Founded in 1970, NORD/LB is headquartered in Hanover, Germany.

NORD/LB perform a variety of investment banking functions and are particularly prominent in bond origination.

They operate both a debt and equity capital markets business as well as a corporate finance unit.

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Get A Job At NORD/LB

Santander

​Founded in 1857, Santander is headquartered in Santander, Spain.

Santander is in the list of the top ten "Major Banks" by market cap on the Forbes 2000 list.

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Get A Job At Santander

Scotiabank (Global Banking & Markets)

​Founded in 1832, Scotiabank is headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). It is one of the top 3 banks in Canada by market cap.

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Get A Job At Scotiabank

Standard Chartered

​Founded in 1969, Standard Chartered is headquartered in London, UK.

​Standard Chartered is largely a commercial bank with an expanding investment banking unit. It has a presence in about 70 countries.

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Get A Job At Standard Chartered

Sumitomo Mitsui FG (SMFG)

​Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) was founded in 2002 by the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

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Get A Job At SMFG

TD Securities

​With foundations dating back to in 1855, TD Securities is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

They provide both corporate finance and capital markets activities.

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Get A Job At TD Securities

Westpac

​Westpac is one of the "Big Four" banks in Australia along with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank (NAB). Westpac was established in 1982 but can trace its roots all the way back to 1817. They are headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

Westpac's equity and debt capital markets division gets a fair amount of flow.

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Get A Job At Westpac

That's all 50!

​Save this page to your web browser favourites to ease the job-hunting burden. Need help deciding where to apply? See how can help you. 

How were the banks chosen? 

These are the Top 50 deal makers as described in Table 2.3 of To Become an Investment Banker. To make navigation easier, they list is divided into 'Top 20' and 'Next 30' then each list is ordered alphabetically. 'Analyst' programs are designed for recent graduates with no full-time work experience and 'Associate' or 'Ph.D.' programs are designed for those with two years or more of full-time work experience.