JPMorgan Chase has sent its new analysts a clear message: those who accept a job offer from another employer within the first 18 months after the program starts—especially from private equity firms—risk immediate termination. The US banking giant is responding to the increasingly aggressive recruitment of young talent by buyout firms and is tightening internal rules significantly.

If you accept a position at another company before you start with us or within the first 18 months, your employment with us ends," says a letter from the co-heads of investment banking, Filippo Gori and Doug Petno, to this year's analyst cohort. The training begins in July.

The occasion is the recruitment process known as "On-Cycle," where private equity firms make offers two years before the planned start date—with the aim of poaching talent after an analyst period at a major bank. JPMorgan sees this as an interference in the training and value chain, as the bank specifically invests in the development of these young professionals.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon had already publicly criticized the actions of the private equity sector. He spoke of ethically questionable practices that fuel conflicts of interest: Analysts could work on deals where their future employer is on the opposite side.

The bank had previously introduced stricter rules than its competitors, including the obligation to disclose future job offers. With the current letter, JPMorgan takes the final step: the warning becomes a clear threat. Analysts must also conduct future job interviews outside of their working hours; training sessions and meetings are considered mandatory.

As a sign of a more attractive internal career, JPMorgan will in the future offer a promotion to Associate after two and a half years instead of the previous three.