Moritz Erhardt collapsed in his shower after returning from his job as a bank intern (Picture: Facebook)

An intern was found dead after working until 6am for three consecutive days at a top investment bank in London, it has been claimed.

Moritz Erhardt – an exchange student from Germany – collapsed in his shower after returning home from his internship at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in London.

The 21-year-old, who was studying at the University of Michigan, was near the end of his internship at the bank.

He had previously written about his desire to be a high-achiever in an online portfolio.


‘I have grown up in a family that expected me, in whatever respect, to excel in life,’ he wrote, the Evening Standard reported.



‘By implication, I felt somehow pressurized (sic). However, I did not intend to belie my parents’ expectations. Therefore, I have become a highly competitive and ambitious nature from early on.

‘Already during my times in elementary school, I began playing soccer as well as tennis, I engaged in track and field athletics, and I started ski racing. Sometimes, I had a tendency to be over ambitious, which resulted in severe injuries.

‘With respect to my performance in school, I was striving for excellence and trying to be the best all the time.’

Moritz Erhardt was near the end of his internship with the bank (Picture: Google Maps)

He had been staying in student accommodation in Bethnal Green, east London, while he worked at Bank of America.

Comments left on the website wallstreetoasis.com highlighted the long hours some interns were made to work during internships at leading banks.

‘He was found dead in the shower by his flatmate. Intern at BAML [Banking of America and Merill Lynch] who went home at 6am three days in a row,’ wrote one anonymous poster.

Another claimed working as an intern at a bank was ‘the worst three months of his life’.

‘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,’ an anonymous banker told the Independent.

‘This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening and banking is a very close culture.’

John McIvor, head of international communications at BAML, described Mr Erhardt as a ‘highly diligent intern’.

‘We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Moritz Erhardt’s death,’ he added.