Deutsche Bank followed HSBC in delaying graduate hiring

In another sign that COVID-19 is affecting banks' demand for university leavers, Deutsche Bank has delayed the start date for this year's graduate hires.

Deutsche’s analysts would usually start in mid-July, but are being asked to begin on October 1st instead. The bank will not pay students during the interim, but incoming graduates will be reimbursed for any flights or other costs incurred in the expectation of a July start.

“In light of the continued impact of coronavirus, Deutsche Bank will commence its graduate programme on October 1. As previously announced, we will deliver our outstanding graduate orientation event in a virtual format,” said a spokesman.

Deutsche’s decision follows a similar move at HSBC, which announced it was deferring full time starters until October back in April. It also follows news that Evercore is paying this year’s junior cohort to stay away until January or July 2021.

The disruption to graduate hiring reflects both a lack of deals (at Evercore) and the difficulty of running a standard onboarding programme while most people are working remotely. Historically, U.S. banks have flown students from Europe to New York City for initial training, but that won’t be possible this year.

If banks delay this year’s graduate recruits for too long, there’s a danger that next year’s graduate recruitment could be disrupted. – Summer interns are typically given offers to convert their internships into full time jobs, but if too many of this year’s graduate hires are delayed until next year – or have only recently started, there will fewer places available.

Deutsche Bank is still running a summer internship this year, but the internship will be virtual (as at other banks) and will only be between two and four weeks long. While many banks that have truncated their internships are paying students for the standard 10 week programme, Deutsche is only paying for four weeks max.