| Corporate Finance / M&A | What skill sets do you believe you require to succeed in investment banking and specifically corporate finance/M&A ? (Answer: enthusiasm, analytical, hard-working, pro-active, attention to detail, reliable, ability to take on responsibility) |
| Corporate Finance / M&A | Give an example where you have worked in a team environment where you had a leadership role? Did you have any difficult situations and if so how did you deal with it? (Answer: question is to assess whether the candidate has leadership qualities and is able to take on responsibility.) |
| Corporate Finance / M&A | What is your perceived view of the role and lifestyle of an investment banking analyst? (number cruncher (excel), building models, preparing analysis, preparing pitch-books, working long hours including weekends). |
| Corporate Finance / M&A | A tip: Talk to as many friends, bankers, etc as possible to get an understanding of the division you are applying for and read graduate brochures. Also make sure you do your research on the organisation ..ie go to the company website and absorb as much info as possible. |
| Investment Banking Division | What kind of financial models do you know? |
| Investment Banking Division | What makes a good analyst? |
| Investment Banking Division | Tell me a time when you had to make a decision. |
| Investment Banking Division | What has been your greatest challenge? |
| Investment Banking Division | Tell me a time when your objective was different from the rest of the group. |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Problem solving/logic questions: How many pairs of shoes are bought in india every year or how many restaurants are there in london - no correct answer but want to see logic |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | What are the credit considerations for opening a garden centre in the city of london? |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | What are the strengths and weakenesses of some of the ratios used in banking P/E or EV/EBITDA |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Tell me about a recent deal in the market and why it has interested you |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Be prepared to answer logic questions - there is no correct answer - just think aloud and show the interviewer how your thought processes work |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | What does an investment bank do? (Good responses include the folloiwng: * distinction between sales/trading functions and investment banking division (with extra points for further distinction between capital raising and advisory businesses); provide liquidity to investors; provide investment ideas; provide strategic/M&A/capital structure advice; provide financing: |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Why would you like to work at an investment bank? (Good responses include: enjoy analytically rigorous work; intellectually curious/like to learn about how things work; dynamic environment/people |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | What do you think you will be doing as a financial analyst? (Good response includes: research on companies/markets, conducting spreadsheet analysis, creating/editing presentations; generally whatever is required to "get the job done" |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Estimate the number of ringtones downloaded to mobile phones in the UK this past year. (Good answer: ability to make reasonable assumptions and use logic to estimate an unknown quantity eg - population of UK, penetration rate of mobile phones in UK, % of people owning mobile phones who download ringtones, avg # of ringtones downloaded per person....) |
| Leveraged Finance (IBD) | Tips: Aptitude/abiility is what is required for candidates to do the job, but attitude/presentation is what gets them an offer. Mock interviews are very important. Am surprised by the number of candidates who generally are good speakers in their style, but aren't coherent in the content of their discussion. Helpful to have third party listen carefully to what someone is saying and whether it is (1) internally consistent (2) consistent with a lay person's understanding of how things work in the world (ie passes the common sense test). |
| Securitisation / Structured debt | Because we work long hours, at a junior level we would be looking for people who are hardworking, passionate about what they love in life, have very good attention to detail (perfectionist tendencies), willing to be dedicated to work, a very strong grasp of basic mathematics, statistics, and excel. "Fit" and personality is extremely important in our group, as the same people who run the models will also speak to clients and go on roadshow. |
| Securitisation / Structured debt | What is your five year plan / Where do you see yourself in 5 years (or 3 or 10)? (Answer: what we do NOT want is someone who does NOT have a plan, or has NOT thought about it. this is a standard question, so hesitation is NOT really an option. We would be looking for how comfortable the person is with discussing his/her plans (honesty, confidence, poise, structure of answer). We want to see someone who is excited abt the industry, interested in staying for more than 5 years. we would be less keen on people who "just want to try it out" or "don't know" |
| Securitisation / Structured debt | If they are not from an econs/finance background - Why do you want to enter an industry which is unrelated to your studies? (Answer: looking for an ongoing interest in economics. would like to see a candidate be able to relate how their previous long term interest have propelled them into this career; looking for people who are up for the challenge (NOT an industry for the timid); looking for people who can relate their current skill set to what will be required of them in an investment bank. |
| Structured Finance Analytics | What are your strengths and weaknesses? (A chance for the candidates to sell themselves/show themselves up) |
| Structured Finance Analytics | Any general macroeconomic question to test for general knowledge e.g the effect of interest rates on property demand. |
| Structured Finance Analytics | A question specific to the division/desk. |
| Structured Finance Analytics | A question to verify the candidates cv |
| Structured Finance Analytics | Tip: Try not to come across as arrogant in a bid to be confident. |