This is turning into a zero sum game of attrition. One leaves, one inherits, until they leave, and then the next inherits (meaning, they’ve inherited two in addition to their own). And then they leave…. Eventually the ones who will be leaving, are the very thing they inherited….the client. What a STUPID and expensive game, because eventually they’ll need to rehire, at elevated market pay rates in hopes they can get the clients back. It’s only a matter of time now before that next phase of client migration to other financial services firms accelerates.
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I’ve seen more people leave in the last 4 weeks than ever before, with more getting ready to go over the next few weeks. It’s truly a mess, so bad in fact that many of us don’t even know who’s still here to do their part in the deal process. Twice now on a current deal, when reaching out to assemble the team, I was told “she is no longer with the bank”. It also takes twice as long to close our deals because of the log jam caused by either too few people left or the learning curve for any of the new hires, who clearly have no experience or clue what they’re doing, obvious hire for either the cheapest dollar or DEI incentives for the bank, or both.
This bank is focused on one thing, the Investment Bank. All other areas are just annoyances to the leadership regime. I’m now convinced BoA is strictly a Wall Street firm, and stuff like home or commercial mortgages, consumer, retirement, etc are just tolerated because of their need to be friendly with regulations. IB gets all the bonuses, the salary increases, etc. Everybody else, should shut up and be happy they even have a job at a “great place to work” firm.
The comments here are correct - this is just Fleet 2.0… and that worked out well…
@1e5 And if MO is 32 and under his her chances go up considerably. You can almost tell by the haircut profile photo who is getting promoted.
Sad to say, but in the absence of any intelligent path to growth and actual profitability (without accounting tricks), THIS is Brian&Co's Strategy.
Yup, this is it. You have insightfully summarized is their entire business plan summed up in one post.
Wash, rinse, repeat. This is all they know how to do.
(and it works for them. they just get richer and paid more every year.)
Sad.
BOA has a very comprehensive and scientific method for considering candidates for management positions. It's called: eenie meeney miney mo.
@18k
Clearly a prime example for one of those who have mastered the ability to hide behind those who do the work, while you do nothing.
Cool more complaints. Endless complaints which mirror Citi and every other company constantly. If you all spent this much time making changes in your life, we’d get somewhere.
They don’t HIRE anybody else. Somebody from the existing group INHERITS the extra work (responsibility). It is like Christmas. A gift. LOL
@j4 thanks. I needed that.
@k1 History is full of this. It’s what happens when the management of a publicly traded company feels threatened by the shareholders to get their share prices up. They operate the company to meet that goal, hence the missing bonuses and hiring freezes in favor of share buybacks. Eventually word gets out into the talent pool, and the experienced who can contribute to the profit growth, don’t waste their time over the idea of joining the company. You only get the desperate and the picked-over with no other options.
@k1 Well said and 100% agree. We’re seeing that happen in our area too.
What is being said here - as people leave, they’re not being replaced regardless of position. Their responsibilities become the burden of those who remain. Then another leaves, not replaced, and their responsibilities become the burden of those who remain, and so on and so on, until it gets to a point where the clients they’re servicing, grow frustrated and find a different firm to do their business with. This is happening as we speak. It’s a zero sum game, meaning it ultimately leads to zero. Zero people left, zero clients for that department to service. The bank is only seeing the cost reduction of staff. They’re not seeing the opportunity cost of lost business in that particular sector, until it’s just too late. The damage has been done. It’s not easy to lure clients back. It’s happening right now. I have two who have said this last deal, is their last deal with us because it’s just taken too long to get it all done, yet not my fault because what is holding the deal up is entirely beyond my control. Not even legally allowed to insert myself to help speed it up…all because the zero sum game has hit that department…
@j4 another employee gets hired??? In our group, still waiting for that to happen. Meanwhile, the responsibilities are growing for each of us as people leave our group. When multiple people are on PTO or on sabbatical leave, it is even worse. I am projecting that when our group is down to less than 8, two things will happen. Get absorbed into another group, or get assigned to a group doing completely something else with current responsibilities sent off-shore. And yes, AI can take over most of what we are doing now. Phone calls, data entry, and generating ad hoc reports, etc...
@ga - I'm not sure if my interpretation is correct but here it is.
Employees leave the company.
Their workload and clients get handed to the remaining employees (one inherits).
Those remaining employees now have:
- their original responsibilities
plus the work/clients from the people who left. - The added pressure burns them out or frustrates them, so they leave too.
- Then another employee gets hired and inherits an even larger pile and the vicious cycle continues.
@OP can you or someone explain this in a different way for me? I’m not quite following