Want to escape NYC? Front-office banking jobs are dispersing

The biggest banks in the world – including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse – are hiring investment bankers in smaller to mid-sized cities across the U.S. in an effort to cut costs and broaden their reach into client segments in other previously non-core regions of the country.

During last week's investor call, Goldman CFO Marty Chavez said that the bank has been hiring in the U.S. outside of its New York headquarters in places such as Salt Lake City and Dallas/Irving. Goldman isn't the only bank hiring for local IBD roles. Other banks are quietly doing the same.

Deutsche Bank, for example, is currently hiring an analyst to join the leveraged debt capital markets (LDCM) analytics team in its Jacksonville office. The job involves analyzing the financial performance of a portfolio of highly leveraged companies and prepare credit reports and financial models projecting future credit performance and identifying asset valuation. DB is also hiring for a more middle office corporate finance role in Jacksonville: it wants an analyst for a new transaction coordination group to help with the loan process and client onboarding/know-your-customer (KYC) process within corporate finance.

Morgan Stanley's hiring in California. The U.S. bank is looking for a vice president in IBD  to focus on the technology sector in its Menlo Park, California, office just down the road from Facebook’s headquarters. It's also hiring a generalist investment banking associate in its nearby San Francisco office.

In addition to its New York headquarters, Citi is currently hiring interns, summer analysts and summer associates for its Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston offices. Citi is also looking to hire full-time investment banking analysts for its institutional clients group (ICG) in Houston.

The bad news about pay

While taxes and the cost of living may be lower in these locations (with the exception of San Francisco) compared to New York, Boston or Chicago, it's natural that you wouldn't want to take to big of a pay cut if you're moving to a new location. So how does base salary stack up in these locations, according to Glassdoor?

A Citi associate averages $106.5k and a VP takes in $127.2k in New York compared to $106.7k and $161.8k, respectively, in Houston, which looks like a great deal for VPs based in the latter.

An average Goldman associate earns $103.5k and a VP makes $159.7k in New York versus $91.4k and $119.4k, respectively, in Dallas.

Bank of America associates' average salary is $109.2k and VPs' is $125.7k in New York compared to $107.1k and $110.6k, respectively, in Charlotte.

An average Deutsche Bank associate gets a base of $100.2k while a VP brings in $165.9k in New York versus $75k and $122.8k, respectively, in Jacksonville.

Morgan Stanley associates' average salary is $105.6k and VPs' is $143k in New York compared to $117.6k and $129.2k, respectively, in San Francisco, where associates are apparently more in demand than VPs.

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