If you work for any investment bank you must not wear flipflops, braces [aka suspenders on Wall Street], or a pastel suit. But does the dress code differ from bank to bank? Should your appearance vary if you’re interviewing at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche, Credit Suisse and Barclays?
Yes. A bit.
This is how the tribes at banks differentiate themselves, according to insiders who work within them.
1. Goldman Sachs: Business casual for the masses, facial hair and suits for partners
If you’re a man who’s interviewing at Goldman Sachs, you should probably wear a dark grey suit and a white shirt. If you’re a woman who’s interviewing at Goldman Sachs, you should probably wear heels, a round-necked shirt, and have long and well-groomed hair.
“For the most part, the code is to fit in,” says one executive director. “- It’s the standard City uniform – trousers and shirt, add a suit jacket and tie as appropriate; depending on your seniority or delusions/aspirations to seniority.”
“It’s business casual for most,” confirms one senior Goldman banker. “The senior VPs and below only put suits on when they go to meetings.”
It’s the partners who stand out at Goldman. “Partners always wear suits, even when going for a smoke,” says the senior banker. “You always know the MDs who want to make partner,” she adds. “They have new suits. They start wearing their jackets. They grow beards.”
Beards are a thing among senior staff at Goldman. Lloyd Blankfein grew one, and then shaved it off. Marty Chavez has one. Pablo Salame does too. There are far fewer beards at J.P. Morgan – although stubble features heavily on the bank’s recruitment website.
2. Deutsche Bank: Less smart than it was, ties above VP – unless you’re Sam Wisnia
Deutsche insiders say the bank has become less smart since Anshu Jain – famed for his sartorial rectitude, quit. “The formality at Deutsche Bank has decreased,” says one MD. “But if you’re in the front office you should really wear a white shirt and smart suit and if you’re above VP level you should always wear a tie, whether you have a meeting or not.”
The exception to this rule appears to be Sam Wisnia, the ex-Goldman partner who joined Deutsche at the start of last year. “Wisnia wears jeans, a dress shirt and a cardigan jumper, ” says one senior Deutsche insider. “He then flips his dress shirt collar up (as if he is going to put a tie on) but the tie is only draped around his neck (as if he doesn’t have enough time to get dressed).”
Another Deutsche insider said the bank has dress down Fridays along with the rest of the industry and that some staff in London “took it too far” by turning up in “things like leather shirts.”
3. Credit Suisse: Moody suits, quiet formality – except on the trading floor
Credit Suisse’s annual report is a study in moody suits. – CEO Tidjane Thiam and chairman Urs Rohner look like something from a genre movie.
Insiders say it’s not that bad. “On the trading floor, the dress code’s very light,” says one. “The only real rule is to avoid sporty clothes and sports shoes.”
“We’re not required to wear ties unless we meet with clients,” says a junior M&A banker. He says there’s a dress down Friday at Credit Suisse: jeans are allowed but wearing a T-shirt too would be taking things “a bit far.”
4. SocGen: Discrete and dress-down
As a French bank, you might have thought SocGen staff would be the epitome of style. Apparently not.
“I was very surprised when I came here,” says one senior banker. “It’s not smart at all – a lot of people dress down and it’s worse in Paris. A client complained to me that one of our teams came to visit him and only one of them was wearing a proper suit.”
She surmises that the relaxed dress code at SocGen – especially in Paris – has something to do with the fact that the investment bank is housed with the retail bank. It’s more Carrefour than Chloe.
When SocGen investment bankers do dress smartly, she says they do so “discretely” – there are no big labels and prestigious accessories: “I’ve had to put away my best handbags.”
5. Barclays: Classic, quiet banking
Insiders say the dress code at Barclays’ investment bank has changed along with its CEO’s.
Under Rich Ricci it was brash: “Ricci wore red braces. He tried to look like a stereotypical banker,” says one Barclays MD.
Under Antony Jenkins it was confused. “Jenkins had this idea that Barclays was a tech company, and he wanted us all to dress like tech professionals,” says the MD. “For a very short period of time we had this thing that you didn’t have to wear a suit could get away with jeans and casual dress.”
Now-chairman John McFarlane put an end to all that summer. Under Jes Staley, the insider says Barclays has become more formal. “It’s quite old school and American – stylish. There are no pin striped suits and braces any more.”
6. Citi: The guy with the “pocket square”
At Citi, insiders say it’s “pretty boring.” White shirts, grey suits. Dark shirts are out.
Individualism is expressed through “funky glasses.” And there’s a guy with a “pocket square.” – “We think he does this to be intimidating,” says one associate.
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Photo credit: potato in disguise by Dave Appleby is licensed under CC BY 2.0.