French students are still clamouring for investment banking jobs in London, at least for now
Aymeric Lubino has interned at BNP Paribas’ M&A division in France. He’s studying a Masters in Finance at HEC Paris, but there’s only one place he wants to work when he graduates in 2018 – London.
More specifically, he wants to work in advisory role in an investment bank in the City. The UK might be on course for a ‘hard’ Brexit and jobs could be moved out of London at an even quicker rate than previously feared. And yet, French students appear as keen as ever to get into the City.
“Moving banks' headquarters and thousands of staff from London to other European capitals will be a long process. There is also much more pressure on financial market activities than on advisory,” says Lubino. “I am not worried about the current turmoil and I think a lot of young people who are keen on working in an investment bank in London think like me.”
France has long been a feeder of talent into the City of London. Our own CV database suggests that 20% of those working in front office investment banking jobs in London with 1-3 years’ experience are French. Germans are the next largest European group, but comprise just 4% of the total.
Is this desire to come to London in the midst of turmoil just naiveté? After all, banks have already cut City graduate numbers by 8%, to 1,934, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters and this year’s interns have complained about fewer offers being handed out.
“Some banks recruited less juniors for full-time positions this summer than the last year,” admits Lubino. “It is a bit of a wait and see game.”
At the very least, if Credit Suisse’s Tidjane Thiam’s comments this week are extended across the industry, 15-20% of investment banks’ markets are dependent on access to the European Union. Boston Consulting Group has estimated that 80,000 banking jobs could leave London if Brexit is handled badly.
But students are not necessarily viewing London as a long-term option and are still eyeing it for the “best” experience while it retains its crown as the top European financial centre.
Yulia Kot, another HEC Paris student due to graduate in 2018, and says that London is the best starting point.
“London is the financial capital of Europe - and that’s still where you can get the best experience. However, it’s not a top priority in the long term,” she says.
Similarly, Sunaina Donimath, and HEC student who interned at BlackRock in London and will graduate next year, says London will remain the place to start out in finance for “at least the next five years”, but longer term might not be the place to be.
London, in short, isn’t the ‘no-brainer’ it used to be. Instead, these students are eyeing alternatives in the U.S., Middle East, Singapore or North African offices of international investment banks, rather than automatically looking closer to home.
Lubino says that Paris and Frankfurt are not, in themselves, proving attractive to elite graduates just yet, but many might rethink that stance if and when the jobs start to move. Instead, those choosing to stay in those locations are the more “risk-averse” students, he says.
“Risk averse French and German graduates who were considering making a long career in London, might now be thinking about starting and staying in Paris or Frankfurt,” he says.
Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com
