Is JPMorgan the new Goldman Sachs?

If you want to work for the preeminent investment bank in the world, JPMorgan is looking rather like the place to be.

JPMorgan has arranged twice as many rights issues as Goldman Sachs this year.

According to Dealogic (via the FT) its investment banking revenues in the first quarter were 20% higher than its nearest rival (Bank of America/Merrill Lynch) and 51% higher than those at Goldman Sachs.

It also ranked number one for global M&A, number one for global DCM, number one for global ECM, and number two for global loans.

Dick Bove, the peripatetic banking analyst now residing at Rochdale Securities, says it's certainly the case that JPMorgan has emerged as the new "golden firm" in the financial services industry. "It's widely respected and it's believed to have done a better job than others in handling its balance sheet."

However, Bove says JP will not supplant Goldman as the most desirable place to work because, "it's totally unlikely that JPMorgan will every pay what Goldman Sachs pays."

In the event that you still want to work there, you will need to approach JPMorgan directly. In a possible indication of both its popularity and its parsimony, the bank is said to be doing all its recruiting itself.

"They have put a complete ban on using any kind of consultancy firm for a year," says one search consultant. "There is no spend on that recruiting at all."

In its recent investor day presentation JPMorgan said it plans to expand in prime broking, commodities and emerging markets. It also expects to cut another 2,000 investment banking jobs in 2009.