It's been quite a few years and I still feel a strong dislike for this company. I feel that the culture is a bit negative, and from my perspective, there was a bit of mistrust. It may have been situational, since we were acquired, but I know it wasn't just me. Many of the ex-UCB employees left when they could. Some of the EWB employees that I befriended were unhappy also. I never felt welcomed as an employee, the department didn't welcome us, people didn't go out of their ways to introduce themselves. It took a lot of effort, we had two different bosses/department heads that were jostling for positioning, and I felt like the red headed step child until the day I left.
Pay is pretty low, the company is a bit petty, and while they do offer work sponsorship, I felt that it was a bit exploitative. It's practically indentured service from the loan assistants that I had talked to.
The middle managers/team leaders were not that smart, competent, or adept as leaders. I will concede that this may be true of this banking niche in general, at least from my outlook (I was pretty young/immature back then) Those with ambitions should not stay as the opportunities are not merit based, but rather relationship oriented. Exit opportunities are not great; I had a difficult time breaking into mainstream banks since no one outside of the Chinese-American banking circle knows about EWB, despite it's size and "prestige."
