"Kind" bank paying $980k+ per head experiences octupling of graduate applications
The second half of bank Q2 reporting season is underway. The big American banks reported in the first half; global banks and boutique banks are reporting now, and the first boutique to report results is PJT Partners.
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PJT, founded by Morgan Stanley veteran Paul (J.) Taubman, had a record quarter and first half of the year. “We have been steadfast in our commitment to value-enhancing, long-term investments that scale and strengthen our businesses,” Taubman said, and “we remain highly confident in our future growth prospects.”
The bank’s future seems to be pretty well-assured, if one takes the popular adage that the youth are the future. 27,100 people applied to PJT’s 2026 internships, including summer, off-cycle, and others. That was a huge increase (more than eight times) on the 3,200 that applied in 2016 - but applicants generally have exploded in the last decade, not just at PJT but across financial services. It's not clear if a sudden influx of applications from students using AI is to blame.
Either way, it’s not a direct comparison. Although the bank does not reveal how many students it hires, PJT’s overall headcount has increased from around 419 to 1,224. If the proportion of students-to-headcount was stable, then it was more of a doubling in applications-per-place.
Students joining PJT can look forward to a great compensation year. The bank paid an average of $491k per person in the first half of 2026, which was up on the $430k it paid per head in H1 of 2025, and the $468k per head it paid in H1 of 2024.
Pay in 2025 and 2024 ended up being $946k and $905k respectively – suggesting that PJT will pay over $1m for 2026.
As usual, PJT’s employees lavished it with praise. “I feel… a culture of kindness and treating others with respect, and a culture that fosters growth and learning,” the bank quoted someone as saying. PJT said of itself that it fosters “an inclusive culture and environment where employees feel valued, respected and empowered.”
One thing that PJT hasn't done is hire a lot of people. The firm had 1,224 people at the start of the year, 1,229 at the end of Q1, and 1,234 at the end of Q2. Adding five people per quarter is not a lot. In those same periods, it had 133, 141, and 142 partners, respectively. Almost all of PJT's headcount growth since the start of the year has been from senior dealmakers.
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