A 21-year-old intern at Bank of America in London had reportedly worked 72 hours straight when he collapsed in the shower and died, according to the Independent and other sources, which are citing Internet chatter. Moritz Erhardt "went home at 6am three days in a row," according to a poster on wallstreetoasis.com, where quite a few commenters discussed interns forced to work extremely hard at banks if they want to be offered a job. The German exchange student reportedly suffered from epilepsy; he was just a week away from finishing the summer internship. BAML (Bank of America Merrill Lynch) confirmed Erhardt's death, calling him "a highly diligent intern with a promising future."
"Interns can regularly clock up to 100 or even 110 hours a week, but people are fully aware that banking is hard work and the company constantly reminds you to manage upwards in order to not overheat," one former investment banker tells the Independent. "This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening and banking is a very close culture." BAML pays interns about $4,200 per month. In 2011, one intern described the "Magic Roundabout," when interns were taken home by taxi at 7am so they could shower, change, and immediately be taken back to the office. Business Week and the Wall Street Journal are reporting the death minus the focus on the reported all-nighters. (More Merrill Lynch stories.)