Investment Banking interview preparation
Every question below is either traced to a named firm from a public candidate report, or tagged at desk level when we could not trace it. Answers are written the way you would actually say them out loud — answer first, then the mechanism, then the limitation.
100 questions, mapped to the firms that asked them
- Questions
- 100
- Traced to a firm
- 100
- Firms
- 46
- Updated
- September 2026
065What specific line items would you look at on the financial statements when evaluating creditworthiness?RBC Capital MarketsCorporate Banking · New York · 2026Wells Fargo SecuritiesGeneralist · North Carolina · 2025
Say this
Cash flow from operations, because that is what repays debt. Then interest expense, total debt and its maturity schedule, cash, the undrawn revolver, CapEx, and the working capital lines.
Then walk it
- Start with cash from operations across several years. One good year proves nothing; consistency through a downturn proves a lot.
- Interest expense against EBITDA gives coverage. Debt and the maturity schedule tell you when the pressure comes.
- Cash and the undrawn facility are the liquidity buffer. Compare them to the next 12 to 24 months of obligations.
- CapEx split into maintenance and growth. Maintenance CapEx is non-discretionary, so it competes with debt service. Growth CapEx can be cut in a bad year, which is a real source of flexibility.
- Then the working capital lines, receivables, inventory and payables, because deterioration shows up there before it reaches the income statement. Rising receivable days means customers are struggling or revenue is being pushed.
- And off the face of the statements: operating lease liabilities, pension deficits, guarantees and contingent liabilities in the notes. Those are real claims that do not sit in the debt line.
Where candidates lose it
Staying on the income statement. Credit is about cash and claims, so the answer lives on the cash flow statement and in the notes. Mentioning the notes, and specifically contingent liabilities, is what separates a credit answer from an equity answer.
Expect next
- How would you assess a good borrower qualitatively?
- What would you ask the CFO if you were the lead analyst?
- How do you determine whether a company is good for credit investing?
Reported by candidates at RBC Capital Markets (Corporate Banking, New York, 2026); Wells Fargo Securities (Generalist, North Carolina, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
074What is the biggest challenge facing banks today?RBC Capital MarketsInvestment Banking · London · 2025UBSPrivate Wealth Management · New York · 2026
Say this
Pick one and defend it rather than listing five. I would argue disintermediation: private credit has taken a large share of leveraged lending, and the balance sheet advantage banks used to have is worth less than it was.
Then walk it
- The structural version: private credit funds now hold loans banks used to underwrite and syndicate. That removes fee income and weakens the cross-sell that won advisory mandates.
- Regulation compounds it. Capital rules make balance-sheet lending expensive for banks and do not apply to the funds competing with them, so the business migrates to where the capital is cheapest.
- Then the cyclical layer: deposit costs and the funding mix. The 2023 regional bank failures showed how quickly deposits move when rates rise and how unhedged duration in the securities book can be fatal.
- Then technology and cost: legacy systems, payments competition from fintech, and now the cost of building AI infrastructure while the payoff is unproven.
- But I would come back to the one point: banks are being squeezed out of the middle. The answer they want is a view, held with a reason, not a survey.
Where candidates lose it
Listing regulation, technology, competition and cyber in one breath with no argument. The question is an invitation to have an opinion. Pick the one you can defend, make the case in three sentences, then acknowledge the strongest counterargument.
Expect next
- Why has private credit taken share?
- What should banks do about it?
- How does that affect the division you are applying to?
Reported by candidates at RBC Capital Markets (Investment Banking, London, 2025); UBS (Private Wealth Management, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
078Tell me a piece of recent news and how it affects this bank.RBC Capital MarketsInvestment Banking · London · 2026BlackRockAsset Management · Tokyo · 2026Deutsche BankGeneralist · New York · 2026
Say this
Pick something with a direct line to their revenue, not a general headline. Then trace the chain: event, effect on a market they operate in, effect on a specific business line of theirs.
Then walk it
- Choose deliberately. A deal in their strongest sector, a regulatory change in their home market, or a competitor's result that reveals something about their position.
- State the fact precisely, with the number. Vagueness here is fatal because it suggests you skimmed a headline.
- Then the chain. For example: a large take-private in their coverage sector signals that sponsors are back in large-cap deals, which flows to their leveraged finance and sponsor coverage revenue, and they have a strong franchise there.
- Then say something specific about the firm that proves you researched it: a mandate they ran, a league table position, a business they recently built or exited.
- Close with why it matters to you: the growth area you want to work in. That converts a market question into a 'why this firm' answer, which is what it really is.
Where candidates lose it
Bringing a headline with no connection to their business, or one they will know better than you and can immediately correct. Pick something in their sector, know the number, and rehearse the three-step chain.
Expect next
- Why does that matter for the division you applied to?
- Which of our competitors benefits more?
- What else have you been reading?
Reported by candidates at RBC Capital Markets (Investment Banking, London, 2026); BlackRock (Asset Management, Tokyo, 2026); Deutsche Bank (Generalist, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.
Firm tags come from public, anonymous candidate reports on Wall Street Oasis: strong signal, not sworn testimony. Firms are named as the places a question was reported, not as partners of Fin Maverick. Answers are written for this page to show how to think out loud; they are not scripts to recite.