What’s the pay for interns on Wall Street and in the City of London this year?

This year's 'summer analyst' - or 'summer intern' - class has arrived at top investment banks. The aspiring young financiers, typically aged between 20 and 23, can expect a summer of hard graft at leading financial institutions. For this, they will be paid handsomely.

The going rate for an intern at a leading investment bank on Wall Street or in the City of London this year ranges from $1.4k to $1.5k  (£810 to £870) per week for front office jobs, say banks' own recruiters and recruitment agencies which place interns. Front office banking jobs are those which directly bring in revenues - things like M&A, sales and trading.

Summer interns are paid less in back office jobs, or support roles. They're also paid less in front office roles at smaller brokerage houses. Lewis Talbot at London-based intern recruitment company City Internships says some London-based finance internships pay as little as £385 per week. By comparison, big banks pay their back office interns anything from $984 to $1.1k (£580 to £675) a week, according to banks' own recruiters.

Summer interns at major banks are typically paid a pro-rated version of the salaries banks pay their first year graduate analysts. But unlike first year analysts, summer analysts don't get a bonus for the work they do between June and August.

The bad news is that intern compensation has remained static for several years. Logan Naidu, chief executive of recruitment firm Dartmouth Partners, which runs a graduate recruiting arm, says it hasn't increased much for the past five years. The good news is that interns' pay increased substantially in 2008-2009, when banks' hiked salaries, including those of first year analysts. At that time, first year banking salaries went from c£35k to c£45k and interns' weekly pay rose proportionately, says Naidu. The increase in graduate salaries was to compensate first year hires for lower bonuses, but as interns didn't get bonuses in the first place they were big net winners from the change.

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