Companies for banking and finance and their trends on B-School campus

Every year, a large number of students from B-Schools across the country take part in the process of campus placements. Companies for banking and finance, along with those for consulting and marketing are few of the popular choices for recruitment amongst MBA students. The terms finance and banking are correlated and exist in a common sphere, making it one of the top preferences for students to opt for during the placement season. 

Let us explore the companies for banking and finance which recruit students from mainstream B-Schools across India, and how their recruitment trends on campus have been this year. 

Top companies for banking and finance

Harvard's report suggests that the proportion of MBA students across the world entering finance and banking in particular has found a new normal in recent years after dropping precipitously following the 2008 crisis. Every year, a large number of students take admission in reputed B-schools across the country to study this leadership course and in turn, find themselves a successful corporate career. 

India is known as an intellectual hub and stands out to be a favourite destination to the recruiters across the globe. Here are some of the top companies for banking and finance which provide campus placements to MBA students:

1. Goldman Sachs 

Goldman Sachs is a reputed American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York City. It is one of the most coveted organisations, which is a dream for all aspirants of finance. In fact, it has secured the top position in Vault’s 2020 list of “Most Prestigious Banking Firms”, further building upon the allure of being hired at the firm. 

Established as one of the largest financial-sector firms, the company takes up students from India’s top B-schools like the IIMs, NMIMS, FMS. Packages can range from INR 30 LPA to INR 35 LPA.

2. Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in the Morgan Stanley Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the second-best investment banking company according to Vault, after Goldman Sachs. 

As one of the companies for baking and finance, it is amongst the top payers for MBA graduates, and is considered a very attractive place to work for if you want to develop your career in finance. Once again, it targets top B-Schools such as the IIMs, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, JBIMS Mumbai and more, with an average pay of INR 20 LPA to the highest of INR 30 LPA.

3. J.P. Morgan

Another sought after company for banking and finance is J.P. Morgan. It provides asset management, investment banking, treasury and securities services, private banking, and commercial banking services to some of the world’s elite. With its headquarters in New York, it has international offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, São Paulo, and Mumbai. 

Being one of the biggest companies for banking and finance, J. P. Morgan conducts the Winning Women MBA Internship Programme, which helps female MBA students grow into successful women professionals. With students recruited from the top B-Schools across the country like the IIMs, SPJIMR Mumbai, XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS, the total annual salary for MBA graduates is from INR 20 to 30 Lakhs everywhere.

4. HSBC

HSBC Holdings is a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. It was the 6th largest bank in the world by 2020, making it one of the top companies for banking and finance sought after by MBA students. With recruitments taking place across reputed schools like DU, the IIMs, and Mumbai University, it provides an average package of INR 20 LPA. 

5. Barclays

Barclays is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company, headquartered in London, England. Apart from investment banking, the company is organised into four core businesses: personal banking, corporate banking, wealth management, and investment management.

As one of the top companies for banking and finance, Barclays continues to be in the dream jobs list of MBA graduates. The appeal is not just for their status in the financial industry, but for the growth and opportunities you get in the company. They also have an ‘MBA Ambition Diversity program’ in which they give summer internships to talented MBA students. The top B-schools that have Barclays as their recruiters are IIMs (A, B, C, L) and ISB only, and deliver an estimated bundle of INR 20 to 25 LPA. 

6. ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank Limited is an Indian multinational banking and financial services company with its registered office in Vadodara, Gujarat and corporate office in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It hires MBA experts for different leading roles like commercial banking, liabilities product management, cards management, transaction banking, corporate banking, compliance, wholesale risk, credit risk, relationship management. 

As one of the top Indian companies for banking and finance, it has established strong relationships with B-Schools across the country, and provides a package of anywhere between INR 60K to 14 LPA depending on the tier of school. 

7. Credit Suisse Group AG

Credit Suisse Group AG is a global wealth manager, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Its recruitment process is restricted only to the crème de la crème B-Schools across the country, with packages starting from INR 10 LPA. 

8. Avendus Capital

Avendus is a financial services firm that offers bespoke solutions in asset management, credit solutions, investment banking and wealth management. With its headquarters in Mumbai, it was the only Indian company to be included in a recent survey of Top 10 Most Desirable Companies for Finance and Banking Amongst MBA Students. 

Being one of the biggest Indian companies for banking and finance, it carries out campus placements schools like FMS and IIMs across the country, along with DU and BITS. The packages they provide range from INR 10 LPA to 25 LPA. 

9. State Bank of India

Indian State Bank (SBI) is a global Indian finance, public sector finance, and financial services company. It has the best workforce.As one of the top companies in banking and finance, it attends SP Jain, IIFT, JBIMS, SCMHRD, XLRI, and so on. They provide packages ranging from INR 6 LPA to 10 LPA. 

10. KPMG

KPMG is a multinational financial services firm specialising in auditing, accounting, and advisory activities in one of India’s ‘BIG 4s.’ They were ranked several times in the Top 100 Best Corporations list on which to operate. It heads top schools such as IIMs, IIFT, NMIMS, SP Jain, XLRI, FMS and provides an average package of INR 16 LPA. 

Hiring trends of companies for baking and finance at B-Schools

The prestigious IIMs across the country and other top B-Schools successfully concluded their final placement process for the outgoing batch (2018-2020) with encouraging results. An increase in participation from overseas companies for banking and finance was witnessed, along with those for consulting, sales, and marketing. For IIM Calcutta, consulting and finance were the top domains this year where maximum recruitments happened. 

According to the 2020 placement reports of IIM Ahmedabad, companies for banking and finance provided 52 offers, with an average package of INR 20 LPA. The top companies for banking and finance which provided placements were HSBC, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, Avendus Capital, and Barclays. 

At IIM Lucknow, 19 percent of the recruitment offers made were by companies for banking and finance. At FMS Delhi, on the other hand, a total of 234 placement offers were made for the batch of 2018-20, out of which 44 percent were for the field of finance itself. At IIM Bangalore, companies for banking and finance like Goldman Sachs and American Express accounted for 16 percent of the total recruitments, making it the top three sectors which provided placements on campus for 2020.

Plethora of roles were offered at SPJIMR Mumbai by companies for banking and finance, which included Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Nomura. Last year at ISB, companies for banking and finance provided 16 percent of the placement offers, making it the second highest recruiter sector wise after consulting. 

More or less, this year's placement reports from prestigious B-Schools indicates that recruitments provided by companies for banking and finance are on the rise, despite the pandemic. Renowned companies like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Avendus Capital have been active in the campus placements of these schools, which makes the entire process of campus placements filled with priceless experiences and exposure. 

If you are interested in a career in banking and finance, then check out the following links:

1. McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, ICICI Bank and Kearney analyze the career prospects of Finance and Consulting domains
2. Is phygital banking the Hail Mary to our post-covid banking problems?
3. List Of Top Resources For Finance Students
4. Placement season undergoes a budding modification in the IIMs
5. B-School campus placements 2020: What lies behind the curtains of Corona?