Deutsche Bank's secret method of saving money on junior bankers

Are you an analyst or associate in an investment banking division (IBD)? Do you want to work for Deutsche Bank? If so, you may be asked to situate yourself in...Birmingham in the heart of the UK.

Birmingham is the UK's second city. Deutsche has had an office at Brindley Place there for around a decade. Brindley Place began as a near-shoring centre for middle and back office jobs in 2008, but Deutsche added a well-publicized trading floor around 2013 and an asset management division soon after that. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Deutsche has also been building a Birmingham-based team of analysts and associates for its the investment banking division (IBD) and is currently looking to supplement this team with a "sector coverage analyst" to work from Birmingham on M&A, equity capital markets (ECM) and financing transactions globally.

Deutsche declined to comment for this article, but we understand its Birmingham IBD juniors aren't new. Numbering around eight in total, they've been there for around two years and spend their time preparing pitch materials for more senior counterparts in London and elsewhere. One of their number is Cesar Rodriguez Figuera, a Spanish "coverage analyst" who joined DB's Birmingham coverage office in January 2016 after working as an associate in the investment banking division of a bank in Venezuela. Figuera's LinkedIn profile says his job at Deutsche involves working on client pitches and valuation models, researching companies, and providing clients with advice on financing and strategy. - Much like analysts and associates in London, then.

Locating banking juniors in Birmingham makes clear financial sense. Deutsche is understood to pay its London juniors between £87k ($121k) (for a second year analyst) and £200k (for a third year associate). Salaries in Birmingham are typically 40% lower than London, suggesting the cost savings for Deutsche (which has promised to get "very aggressive" about spending and allegedly faced a 40% increase in EMEA travel costs in the IBD last year) could be high.

Whether junior bankers actually want to work in Birmingham is questionable, however. There are no vice presidents or managing directors in IBD at Brindley Place, suggesting opportunities for progress could be limited. On the flip-side, competition for jobs is likely to be less fierce and bankers who've moved there from London speak fondly of, 'short commuting times, attractive property, good schools and the easily accessible city centre'.

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