Cheapness

For people that are paid multiples over the average person’s salary, most bankers are extremely cheap.

Free Ice Cream: This phenomenon is most clearly evidenced during promotional ‘free ice cream days’ at the building. On these days, M&A bankers that usually won’t leave their desks for a moment to grab their own lunches to avoid crowds at all costs, will herd themselves amongst the ‘common people’ and line up for over 30 minutes for this deliciously free ice cream.

Meeting Bait: Every meeting must have something to entice Bankers to actually attend in person. Can take the form of coffee, cookies, pizza or meeting sandwiches.

Selling tickets: Quite often, a senior having another event to attend in its place, will want to sell his sports or concert tickets. His assistant will send out an email to everyone in the bank asking an exorbitant price for these tickets.
Why this sucks for the analyst:
1) It is a kick in the nuts. You’d think that an MD might want to reward one of their hardest working analysts with some complimentary concert tickets.
2) If the analyst ends up purchasing these tickets, his Associate will translate that as capacity anyways. And he won`t be able to go.