Bank of America. BofA. BoA. Or as the old-timers more affectionately know it prior to their rebrand of 2019, BAML (Bank of America Merrill Lynch). 

BofA is headquartered in the United States and out of the other bulge brackets, sits comfortably around 4th or 5th in the middle of the pack globally. Domestically though, there is a slightly different story to tell (and frankly, it is not told very well by their now very outdated recruitment video below). 

Headed by the indefatigable Joe Fayyad since 2019, BofA has been on a bit of a growth run in the local market, landing big-ticket mega deals along the way. Most notably, in 2021, these include mandates as adviser to CSL on its $US11.7 billion ($16.4 billion) bid for Swiss group Vifor, and co-underwriter to an associated $6.4 billion equity raising. BoA also advised Brookfield on its $18 billion acquisition of AusNet Services.

Whilst we are told that only some coverage groups do these types of “big big deals”, this is probably not too unusual for an investment bank growth story. We’ve heard that some divisions outpace others which means long hours for some teams and perhaps less long days for others. In all cases however, you can be assured that you will work hard with a typical day being from 9am – 12am/1am. After all, you don’t become a bulge bracket bank without some kind of high-performance culture and ruthless streak.

The remuneration at BofA is not bad, but it certainly is not paying the absolute top of the market. That’s not to say you won’t be rewarded with the usual perks afforded the investment bank crowd, and you can be sure that (along with your bonus) you’ll have plenty to spend on fancy food and drinks on a Friday night, if you get one that is. 

If you’re looking for great training and support, BofA has the infrastructure and resources you are looking for, with TTS modules for its staff. We’ve also heard that grads get flown to the Big Apple for their training, which is a nice way to check out the HQ and see a bit of the world at the same time.

BofA is making a few waves of late with its ability to land marquee deals in the market. Along with its reputation as a bulge bracket bank and ambition for growth in the domestic market, it appears to be a place with a great structure and good management. Whilst pay falls short compared to the leaders in the market, it is by no means a small sum and, we think, practically irrelevant for the ambitious.