Why This Major Bank Is Racing to Promote Junior Bankers

Citi is giving junior bankers a faster way up. It’s the $215 billion bank’s latest move in a talent war with private equity. 

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Citi is shortening its investment banking analyst program from three years to two, allowing junior bankers a quicker path to associate roles. 

The change will help Citi recruit and keep young talent as private equity firms step up efforts to hire from Wall Street. It also brings the bank closer to the promotion timelines used by some rivals, David Friedland, Citi’s co-head of North America investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Citi is betting that faster promotions will make it easier to retain junior bankers. The bank gives junior employees earlier access to more responsibility and higher pay by moving analysts to associate roles after two years instead of three.

The goal is to make staying at Citi more appealing as rival banks, private equity firms and hedge funds recruit Wall Street talent. Private equity firms especially have begun approaching bankers very early in their careers, sometimes in the first months after they start their first Wall Street job.

“The reality that private equity is interviewing so early in a banker’s career is very unfortunate and to some extent disappointing,” Friedland said. “It’s very hard to make a choice to go into another field in the first month you land on Wall Street.” Friedland joined Citi after nearly 28 years at Goldman Sachs.

Wall Street banks are countering poaching

Citi’s decision to speed up promotions comes as Wall Street banks push back against private equity firms recruiting junior bankers almost as soon as they arrive.

The issue drew broad attention last year after JPMorgan discovered in June that some newly hired analysts had skipped mandatory training sessions to interview for private equity jobs, even though they had only been at the bank for days.

JPMorgan responded by telling incoming U.S. analysts that they could be terminated for accepting another job before they start or within their first 18 months. The bank also shortened the route to associate from three to two-and-a-half years.

Other major banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have also required junior bankers to disclose outside offers.

AI is also changing the landscape for junior bankers

Citi’s faster promotion track also arrives as AI reshapes entry-level finance work.

Banks are introducing AI tools that can automate some of the repetitive tasks long handled by junior staff, such as organizing information and analyzing data. 

Supporters say the technology could free young bankers to work with clients and take on more meaningful responsibilities earlier in their careers. Citi revealed earlier this year that more than 80% of its 180,000 employees with access to its AI tools use them regularly.

“Most have completed prompt training to help them get the most out of these tools,” Citi noted.