The banks paying juniors the most are not the ones you think

Which investment banks in London pay the juniors in their investment banking divisions (IBD) the most? You might think it would be the big U.S. houses with their deep pockets and deep fees. It's not, or at least not always.

If you're an analyst in an investment bank and you're chasing a big pay package you want to work for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, or maybe J.P. Morgan.

Once you hit associate level - typically four years into your investment banking career (although a year earlier at banks which have introduced "accelerated promotions"), you'll probably earn more working for a Swiss bank.

As the chart below, based on figures from London recruitment firm Dartmouth Partners reflects, it's UBS and Credit Suisse that are the biggest payers at associate level in investment banks. By comparison, some of the big U.S banks which you might expect to pay well are rather less generous. UBS ranks in the top cohort despite upsetting its juniors by freezing salaries this year.

How about Deutsche Bank, which is reportedly paying above the odds to attract juniors on Wall Street and which scrapped performance bonuses above assistant vice president level this year? As the chart shows, Deutsche has kept up with the pack when it comes to paying juniors, but it's not in with the front runners. Barclays, meanwhile, pays on a par with Goldman Sachs for the first few years - which might come as a surprise to anyone who thought European banks paid the least.

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com

Photo credit: Chance by Mark Strozier is licensed under CC BY 2.0.