Top MBA Recruiters: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
As one of the biggest names in investment banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is also a prime destination for MBA graduates to land after earning their degrees. As one of the largest investment banking organizations, landing a job at the firm is a dream situation for many graduate school students across the country and world.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is actually a relatively new entity. In January 2009, Bank of America completed the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co and soon began re-branding all of its corporate and investment banking activities under the Bank of America Merrill Lynch name.
According to the firm, Bank of America Merrill Lynch business includes corporate and investment banking, corporate credit and transaction banking, global markets, research, global commercial banking and business banking services. The group provides services to small and midsize companies, middle-market and large corporations, government entities and institutional investors across the globe.
Services offered by Bank of America Merrill Lynch include:
- Mergers and acquisition advice
- Equity and debt capital raising
- Corporate lending
- Credit treasury and merchant services
- Sales and trading
- Risk management
- Research
- Liquidity and payments management
Don’t be confused by the name: Bank of America Merrill Lynch operates around the world, and is organized within four geographic divisions: Asia Pacific (Hong Kong); Europe, Middle East & Africa (headquartered in London); and Latin America and U.S. & Canada (headquartered in New York). The New York office also operates as the global headquarters.
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s careers page, in U.S. and Canada alone, the firm boasts:
- 12 employee networks with nearly 70,000 employees worldwide
- $183M+provided in global philanthropic investments
- 9.5 million training hours logged by employees in 2015
- 100 percent score in the Human Rights Corporate Equality Index
Careers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Being the large firm that it is, there are many ways to get involved at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Bank of America Merrill Lynch hires experienced professionals and recent graduates alike to handle the various financial products and services that are offered to customers and clients.
This includes careers in:
- Global Risk Management: Responsible for overseeing the company’s strategy and governance for risk management, maintaining relationships with regulators and supervisory institutions worldwide, and promoting a bank culture where risk is always top of mind.
- Corporate Audit: A global team responsible for providing independent assessments of business activities throughout Bank of America. The group supports how the company manages risk by determining whether controls over key risks are in place and functioning properly.
- Global Banking & Markets: This division serves mid- to large-sized corporations and institutional clients worldwide. It is comprised of Business Banking, Global Commercial Banking, Global Corporate & Investment Banking, Global Markets and Wholesale Credit.
- Global Technology & Operations: This division delivers technology and operating services that form the backbone of the company’s retail, commercial and institutional businesses, as well as its key support functions.
How to Get a Foot in the Door
With so many career choices and paths to take at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, there are a few different ways to get a start at the company.
First and foremost is the summer internship program. Internships typically last for 10 weeks and function as Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s primary source of hiring. According to the company, in some locations, summer intern opportunities are offered for students who are in the first or second year of study as well as fixed-term placements such as off-cycle internships or industrial placements/attachments that take place at varied times throughout the year and can vary in length depending on business need.
Full-time Analyst and Associate programs are also available for recent graduates. Analysts typically have a bachelor or masters degree, while Associate roles are generally for MBAs and other advanced degrees. These programs offer formal, ongoing training and development opportunities, structured performance evaluations, mentoring support and networking opportunities.
For some MBA graduates, Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers an MBA Diversity Fellowship Program—an award merit-based fellowship offered to Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, military veterans, LGBT, students with disabilities and women entering business school.
Fellows receive up to $40,000 of total tuition and fees towards the first year of your MBA program, a paid summer internship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Banking & Markets businesses and an opportunity to receive further funding towards total tuition and fees for the second year of your MBA program.
To be eligible, candidates will need to be admitted to a US based AACSB accredited business school and complete an online application including your resume, an essay of 500 words describing how you see the fellowship supporting you to achieve your career goals, a copy of one essay submitted to your business school and two letters of recommendation.
You can apply for a number of career opportunities at Bank of America Merrill Lynch here.
About the Author
Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
