Wall Street firm will pay junior bankers not to work
Banks are dealing with coronavirus fallout
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Evercore Partners Inc. is offering to pay incoming junior bankers up to $25,000 to delay starting their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to external recruiters, a move that hasn't been seen on Wall Street since the last financial crisis.
Recent college graduates who were due to start at Evercore later this summer will get $15,000 if they defer their start date until January and $25,000 if they wait until next summer to join, said recruiters who are in touch with incoming employees. A spokesman for Evercore declined to comment.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVR | EVERCORE PARTNERS INC | 300.89 | +3.52 | +1.18% |
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In 2009, when banks were cutting costs and laying off employees, thousands of college graduates bound for Wall Street were paid to delay their start dates. Banks aren't in financial distress this time, but they are bracing for a decline in deal-making as the pandemic drags on. Evercore specializes in advising companies on mergers, fundraising and other transactions.
What's more, banks have nowhere to send these new employees. The offices of banks and investment firms, like most in white-collar industries, have been largely empty since March. The hands-on training that is key to onboarding new workers is now impossible, as are the kind of social events that would normally help integrate them.
The challenge is especially acute on Wall Street, which has a robust and regimented boot-camp culture. Analysts, the industry name given to the junior-most employees, join every summer or fall by the thousands and spend two years learning the ins and outs of finance.
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No bank has rescinded offers en masse, but all are tweaking their onboarding and training to go virtual. Summer internships, too, will be online-only, and many banks have shortened the typically 10-week stints.
Consulting firms including McKinsey and Accenture, which pull from a similar college pool to Wall Street banks, are delaying start dates for fall hires.
"Learning a craft without being surrounded everyday by people shouting, talking, throwing ideas around is going to lessen the experience," said Anthony Keizner, of financial-services recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners.