How Do Investment Banks Recruit in India?

Let’s divide the universe of Investment Banking firms operating in India into Domestic and Global firms as we attempt to understand their recruiting practices.

Domestic IB Firms

• The early 2000s saw a lot of deal activity in India and with the rise of growth private equity, the universe of IB coverage expanded from large conglomerates to mid-market companies and fast-growing start-ups in multiple sectors including Technology and Financial Services.
• This trend led to the emergence of many mid-market firms in India that capitalized on the opportunity and built strong practices focusing on PE fund-raises.
• Top domestic firms in India that have good deal flow include Avendus, JM Financial, Kotak Securities, Spark, O3 Capital, Arpwood Capital, ICICI Securities, Equiris and Axis Capital.  
• Undergrads and CAs without direct IB experience generally join as Analysts and grow in the firm. MBAs from top campuses in India typically join as Associates.
• Mix of campus and lateral hiring varies by firm – while some firms visit b-school campuses regularly, others focus on hiring laterally from the market.

Global IB firms

Global firms that operate in the Indian market can be classified as Bulge Bracket (“BB”) and Elite Boutiques (“EB”).

Bulge Brackets (BB)

• BBs are large American/European banks that have a strong global presence, consistently rank in the top quartile on Wall Street league tables and focus on mega transactions in India.
• They cover all products, including PE syndication, corporate M&A as well as capital market raises.
• Firms actively engaging in India include Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi, Credit Suisse, Barclays and BAML among others.
• Their hiring is very structured (generally from top 3-4 IIMs) and they generally do not make exceptions regarding academic pedigree.

Elite Boutiques (EBs)

• Elite Boutiques for India include other global IBs that have a strong presence in India but may not be BBs by global standards.
• They include firms focusing on large transactions like Moelis, Nomura, Rothschild as well as those focusing on mid-market deals like DC Advisory, Investec and EY.
• The recruiting prospects here might be slightly better than BB firms with importance given to candidates with strong undergraduate pedigree and previous IB experience, including eperience at global BB banks in middle office roles.
• Although recruiting could also be slightly unstructured (more requirement-based than annual campus visits), being from a top b-school always provide an edge.