Week of March 17, 2026 | Your weekly pulse on investment banking — hiring, deals, and everything in between.

💰 Comp & Bonus Watch 💰

Bonus season is wrapping up, and the verdict? Uneven. Goldman's pool was up roughly 10%, with front-office bankers largely content, but middle- and back-office staff are another story, with engineering and operations bonuses reportedly hit hard. (Source: eFinancialCareers) Bank of America flagged a 20% increase for its investment bankers, with Asia-based payouts coming closest to that figure, while market bonuses lagged. (Source: eFinancialCareers)

The boutique vs. bulge-bracket divide is widening in pay. Firms like Perella Weinberg and Centerview are paying associates $50K–$100K+ more than bulge bracket peers — and crucially, paying bonuses in 100% cash rather than deferred comp. (Source: eFinancialCareers)

📈 Market & Deal Activity

The M&A engine is running hot. Global deal volumes hit $4.7 trillion in 2025, and Q1 2026 has shown no signs of slowing, with a continued wave of megadeals exceeding $10 billion reshaping the technology and banking sectors. (Source: Bain & Company Global M&A Report)

Technology remains the most active M&A sector entering 2026, with consolidation driven by strategic stack ownership — particularly in AI capabilities, cloud infrastructure, and data center expansion. (Source: Bain & Company) Healthcare is also active. For hiring, this matters: banks are staffing up coverage teams in tech and healthcare faster than anywhere else right now.

Closer to home: BTIG, fresh off its acquisition by U.S. Bancorp, is planning to hire as many as 100 investment bankers in the coming years, primarily in New York and Miami Beach. (Source: Bloomberg)

Candidates with closed M&A deal reps and in tech or tech-adjacent deal reps are steering the lateral market. Candidates who check that box are getting guarantees.

🎯 Interview Tip of the Week

With acceptance rates at elite banks now below 1%, being technically solid isn't enough to stand out. Banks are hunting for a very specific type of candidate — and most people who believe they're "in process" at multiple firms end up with zero offers. (Source: Wall Street Oasis)

The fix? Stop pitching yourself as a generalist. Walk into every interview knowing which sector group you're targeting and why — and have a concrete opinion on a deal in that space. Bankers remember the candidate who said "I've been following the cybersecurity consolidation wave and here's what I think it means for your coverage group." They forget everyone else.

👀 What I'm Watching

The post-bonus lateral market is in full swing right now — and the candidates winning offers aren't the ones with the flashiest backgrounds. They're the ones who have done their homework on where deal flow is actually going. Tech M&A, healthcare, and energy infrastructure are where banks are quietly adding headcount. If you're thinking about a move, position yourself around one of those themes, not just your title and bank name.

📚 Full Sources This Issue:

eFinancialCareers — 2025 IB Bonus Season Recap

Bain & Company — Global M&A Report 2025/2026

Bloomberg — BTIG Hiring Plans Post U.S. Bancorp Acquisition

Wall Street Oasis — IB Recruiting Trends 2026