Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

@1ygw+1dyKJhj9 awesome post man, learned a lot about IB!

Answer will depend somewhat on which risk group you’re talking about.

Aren't most WF investment bankers contractors anyway? Nuemrous positions involving contractors get judged based on what "You did your last time out." No commitment from the brass.

Trading has been seeing layoffs and automation.

WFC has been talking about growing CIB for years, but they always lose steam and fail for one reason or another. Poor track record, poor technology and poor “leadership” hires from other firms. So far, they have only been able to improve their numbers by internalizing business, but have never been successful with attracting business from other firms/institutions.

I would only take the job if you are a “yes-man” and plan on playing nice with all the boys. They will tell you they want a strong decisive person with experience and ideas on how to improve risk or business, but the truth is: they do not want to be challenged, and they will not appreciate questions/suggestions from someone younger, someone better educated, someone new to the bank, and definitely not from a woman.

Additionally, any fancy new ideas you have to improve risk and over site to the bank will never be carried out if they require technology changes. WFC can barely stay on top of required regulatory updates, so any upgrades are 5-10 years behind.

@1ygw+1dyKJhj9 - beautiful! Describes the life of an investment banker beautifully . Anywhere , frankly but the WF sl--t is a nice touch.

Get ready to bow down and ki$$ axx. Egos. Trash of the earth.

Not sure how long ago the below poster worked in CIB, but from what I’ve heard working on the IB side has become significantly worse as too many support resources were cut and attrition hasn’t been backfilled.

Regardless, I would stay away from anything “risk” related because it’s hard to add value and gain experience when the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. You would probably be doing misguided, redundant work unless you are very lucky… that seems to be true of all risk functions at WF regardless of LOB.

Was in IBCM for 3+ years in NYC. Overall great experience, best position and pay I had with WF. Foolishly I left that position for a “fluff” position in Charlotte in the CAO LOB. A job in title and nothing else. Biggest regret 2-3 months into the new position. Another story for another time. Bottom line, I should have never left IBCM or NYC.

Hours with IBCM were long. 12-16 hour days, some weekends when there was a deal or road show happening. I was in my late 20s/early 30s, so I could take the long hours and being constantly on the go.

Extremely fast paced, can be stressful day in and day out. Adhoc meetings on the fly. You have to be engaged and on the ball. Forget about a personal life. You will be jacked up on coffee and Red Bull constantly. You are expected to be available at all times. It’s not a suggestion, it’s an expectation.

Kept fresh shirts, a backup suit, extra socks/underwear and shoes in my cube closet. Toiletries in my gym bag and desk drawer. Last minute I would have to run out across town, jump on a train or plane for a meeting or deal session. Sometimes just flying with decks and pitch books hot off the press.

There is no hand holding. You are expected to jump right in. On the job training is from watching peers and others operate. There are hierarchies. No one is your friend, buddy or pal. You will learn where to align yourself. You have to keep a Michael Corleone mindset. Cool, resilient, resourceful, strategic, but never let anyone know what you are thinking.

If you don’t know the answer, you better find the answer and have the answer. Solutions not problems. Proactive not reactive. I’ve witnessed young Analysts and/or Associates get kicked out of meetings for not being prepared. Literally, Get the eFff out of my meeting! I want him/her/them off this deal!” This includes internal partners as well.

If you think HR really cares that your feelings were hurt, they don’t. This is an aggressive business and industry. You are replaceable and you will be replaced. There’s a mile long line to get into CIB, any group/role/position, (Even Support Staff and Admin Assistants) because the pay/bonuses is the highest out of all the other WF LOBs for talent and retention.

Managing Directors are extremely aggressive. Many come from GS, MS, JPM, Citibank, BOA, Jeffries and some boutique firms. A few Seasoned Associates who started right out of college will eventually become Managing Directors internally, but a majority jump ship for the competition listed above after getting 4 years of experience, and again they come back 4 years later. Don’t burn bridges. You will run into these people for an eternity in this field.

Raises and bonuses are flush. You will be well compensated. Promotion? Depends on your career aspirations over the next 3 years, 5 years and 10 years. Talent is recognized and well compensated. You don’t control your career trajectory. Others control your trajectory and salary/bonus based on your work ethic, drive and results. If you are seasoned and proven, you will be placed on the biggest and best deals with the best teams and most knowledgeable. You will start being requested by Managing Directors and Senior Associates to join this deal or that deal because your work is recognized. Those teams are the highest earners.

If you are lazy and whiny, putting in a standard 8 hour day, then you will get grunt work and be placed on the B Team pushing paper and doing trivial research for smaller deals and your compensation will reflect it.

I’m unsure what type of Compliance work you will be doing or what team/group you will be assigned to. But the Compliance team, JD associates and senior Attorneys were right there on the front lines and in the thick of it with us. They were at every meeting, every deal, every issue, etc.

If you are expecting work/life balance, there is none, even as a business partner to your assigned group. My relationship unraveled from being gone 16+ hours a day. If you have kids, this isn’t for you, your kids won’t see you except on weekends and major holidays. Your spouse/partner will need to be equally competitive in their career to understand, or they will need to be resilient and psychologically strong to put up with your hours. This is not to be demeaning. It’s the honest truth. You can’t be with a needy and clingy partner in this business. You need an equal partner. Trust me, divorce is costly and time consuming.

That’s my personal take based on my experience. Would I go back, absolutely. Live fast, or die slowly.

Asset Cap or not, deals are done everyday. The way to skirt around this is to be the “other part” of the financing. Split deals. Multi institute deals. A slice of the pie.

In it now. Stable, but no promises. Good luck.

The wording of your post makes it sound like you want a front office job, and are hoping by going to a shittier bank like WFC, it would be easier to move from Risk to Trading eg.

If you are interested in IB or Trading proper, I'd just stay away from WF. Charlie has no background whatsoever on that side of the house, and with all the regulatory problems, it's going to be an also-ran division for a while.

Their Operation Risk area is a complete failure. Not one has any idea how anything in Risk works.

The desire is to grow CIB, but that asset cap isn't going away anytime soon. Likely still a few years away.