The US bank selected 27 analysts from more than 3,000 applicants for the two-year programme, which started on Wednesday. Promising eight-hour days and work-free weekends, it aims to break away from the punishing seven-day workweeks common to young staff in London and New York. By locating in Málaga – a sunny, cultural and food-oriented city on Spain’s southern coast far removed from the world’s major financial hubs – Citi also seeks to offer a more attractive lifestyle and a different route into banking for those less interested in returning to a downtown office in Canary Wharf or Manhattan post-pandemic. But some opponents dismissed the idea as a gimmick that could ultimately stunt the careers of those who decide to spend their early years working less than half the hours and earning about half the starting salary of their peers at Citi headquarters. “This is not a gimmick, it’s a reality: the incredible reaction internally and from our competition has confirmed that the project is off to a good start,” said Manolo Falcó, global co-head of investment banking. “We’re suffering a lot of upheaval like the rest of the industry, losing talent to private equity and technology, so we’re looking forward to seeing if we can stop that by offering a better work-life balance.”

“We do not agree that there will be any stigma at all. Citi has a presence in 95 countries with many different businesses and there are no second-class citizens,” he added. “We want to open other avenues to attract the best talent and the quality of CVs shows that there is a trend from this generation to want more free time.” The burnout debate reignited last year when exhausted Goldman Sachs analysts released a slide deck detailing brutal hours and allegations of workplace abuse, exacerbated by work isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Similar complaints have been echoed by the legal and consulting sectors. Banks responded by raising first-year salaries to $100,000 or more — with big bonuses on top — as well as offering perks like free Peloton exercise bikes. However, few committed to reducing working hours. This year, the boom in trading due to the stock market boom and the era of cheap money has faded as inflation soars and recession fears deepen. Banks including Goldman Sachs are already planning job cuts as activity slows. “Revenues in the industry are significantly down and that will obviously have an effect,” said Falcó. “I’m not surprised that some people are starting to send these messages. We are monitoring the situation so far, but we have recruited more juniors than ever before and remain committed to offering them a long career.” The 27 banking, capital markets and consulting analysts in Malaga—most under 25, with one 32—represent a small percentage of Citi’s workforce. The banking, capital markets and advisory division hired 160 people in the EMEA region this year and about twice that number in New York.

“In other crises the industry made the mistake of dramatically reducing graduate recruitment, so when the markets recovered we didn’t have enough people and whole generations were missing,” said María Díaz del Río, chief of staff at the unit in Malaga. “Sometimes banks burn out our analysts, so we want to prove that they can work limited hours and add value,” he added. “When they’re working on M&A deals, maybe we’ll ask them to work more, but we’ll compensate them with more time off. They will be the ones fresh to live trading, they will have more time to think and be creative.” After two years, those who perform well will have the opportunity to apply for jobs in New York, London or elsewhere. “There’s obviously a question about how many will choose to pursue a full-time, mainstream investment banking career,” Falco said. “If you want to go all the way, you have to move from Malaga after all.”