At this year\u2019s analyst classes in the City of London last week, one thing stood out: the Italians. By our estimation around 14% of the analysts hired into investment banks this year come from Italy. One Goldman Sachs Managing Director, himself an Italian (admittedly), thinks he knows why.<\/p>\n
He says Italians make good bankers for a variety of reasons but most of all because, they lack alternatives. \u00a0\u201cThe Italian economy has barely grown in the last 25 years,\u201d he points out, speaking on condition of anonymity. \u201cThere\u2019s no Italian tech industry and at the institutional level most finance activity happens out of London. At the same time, there are very few industrial opportunities, so top Italian talent gravitates to London.\u201d<\/p>\n
Together with the Indians and the Chinese, he argues that the Italians are the hardest working bankers in the City. Firstly, they\u2019re motivated by the lack of alternatives (\u201cPeople are very committed to perform once they get a job.\u201d) Secondly, even moderate success in banking can deliver \u201ctransformational wealth\u201d when it\u2019s taken back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung Italians working in Italy are some of the worst paid in Europe,\u201d he points out. \u201cThe average gross salary in Italy is \u20ac27.4k a year and when you graduate from university, your best bet as a starting salary in an Italian job is around \u20ac1.5k a month.\u201d \u00a0By comparison, 25 year-olds in the City of London can expect to earn \u00a3100k (\u20ac119k) plus.<\/p>\n
Motivation-by-fear isn\u2019t the only thing driving young Italians to success in London though. The Goldman MD says it helps too that Italy\u2019s government bond market is one of Europe\u2019s largest: \u201cItalians are usually very good in rates.\u201d Italians are also naturally gregarious and commercial, which helps in sales. And then there\u2019s Bocconi, which regularly ranks towards the top of the league tables for masters courses and universities that banks hire from.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At this year\u2019s analyst classes in the City of London last week, one thing stood out: the Italians. By our estimation around 14% of the analysts hired into investment banks this year come from Italy. One Goldman Sachs Managing Director, … Continue reading