Bank of America is tightening its scrutiny of junior bankers’ workloads following last year’s highly-publicized death of a staffer who allegedly logged 100 hours per week, according to a report.
The Charlotte-based lender has now given senior bankers the responsibility to make sure that their junior colleagues are not weighed down by excessive time demands, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The change comes after 35-year-old Leo Lukenas III died last May, leading to renewed concerns about Wall Street’s grueling culture.
Historically, the responsibility of assigning workloads to junior bankers fell on mid-level employees serving one-year rotations.
However, insiders at the bank told the Journal that these midlevel staffers often lacked the proper tools or incentives to effectively enforce workload restrictions.
To mitigate these issues, Bank of America has now reassigned this responsibility to senior bankers.
“We want all of our junior bankers to have the best experience possible, learning from the teammates they work with and further benefiting from the career growth and development this role brings,” a company spokesperson told the Journal.
The Post has sought comment from Bank of America.
Separately, The Post reported over the weekend that Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian Moynihan, is being viewed inside the company as “holding the bank back” due in large part to his strained relationship with President Trump.
The shift in oversight comes on the heels of the bank’s decision to eliminate approximately 150 junior investment banking positions last week, primarily targeting employees deemed lower-performing, sources familiar with the situation told the Journal.
The layoffs stoked concerns over possible increased workloads for those remaining on affected teams, the Journal reported.
A Wall Street Journal investigation last year revealed that young bankers at major firms often faced extreme hours — with some working up to 120 hours per week and being pressured to downplay their actual workload.
Lukenas, who had been assisting on a $2 billion deal, had reportedly endured consecutive weeks of 100-hour workloads before his death.
An autopsy later determined that his death was caused by a blood clot in his heart.
Following Lukenas’ death, further investigations revealed that junior bankers were frequently encouraged to misrepresent their hours to avoid breaching company-imposed limits designed to regulate excessive workloads.
Those restrictions had been established after the 2013 death of another young employee who had worked through multiple all-nighters.
In response to these revelations, several financial institutions, including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, imposed caps on weekly working hours.
JPMorgan said that it would cap junior bankers’ work hours at 80 per week — with exceptions to be made in certain cases such as a live deal.
Goldman Sachs, which has long been dogged by employee complaints of burnout, declined to offer a formal cap on weekly hours. Instead, it offers a “protected Saturday” policy, allowing junior bankers time off from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday — with certain exceptions.
Bank of America also introduced a new time-tracking system requiring junior bankers to provide more detailed accounts of their working hours.
A source close to Bank of America told the Journal that executives are exploring additional measures to alleviate workload pressures.
One idea being considered is leveraging artificial intelligence tools to assist in preparing pitch decks and financial forecasts — a process that traditionally demands long hours from junior bankers.
The recent reduction in junior investment banking positions impacted analysts and associates across various locations, including the US, Europe and Asia.
Many of those affected were first-year analysts who had only recently begun their careers at the bank.
According to an insider, some were offered opportunities in other divisions within Bank of America.
