Investment Banking interview preparation

Questions

100

Traced to a firm

100

Firms

46

Updated

September 2026

Asked at

All firmsTSTruist Securities10Rothschild & Co8Centerview Partners7CSCredit Suisse7HWHarris Williams6Houlihan Lokey6Lazard6Mizuho6Barclays5Citi5Deutsche Bank5Evercore5Moelis & Company5MSMorgan Stanley5Piper Sandler5RCRBC Capital Markets5Goldman Sachs4Nomura4TD Securities4Bank of America3GSGuggenheim Securities3J.P. Morgan3Jefferies3Moody's3Perella Weinberg Partners3WPWarburg Pincus3WBWilliam Blair3HSBC2Lincoln International2Scotiabank2TPTPG2UBS2Wells Fargo Securities2Advent International1Apollo Global Management1Bain Capital1Balyasny Asset Management1BLBlackRock1BPBNP Paribas1General Atlantic1Invesco1Morningstar1PIMCO1STSociété Générale1SSState Street1WMWellington Management1

Topic

All topicsAccounting14Valuation21M&A10Markets and deals10Capital markets3LBO8Leveraged finance3Restructuring2Credit3Debt capital markets2Capital structure2Case and estimation11Brainteasers6Fit5

Level

AnyCoreIntermediateHard

Type

AnyTechnicalCaseBrainteaserFitMarket view

1. 025What is EV/EBITDA and when would you use it?ValuationCorephone / HireVueWBWilliam BlairInvestment Banking · Chicago · 2026

   Say this

   It values the whole enterprise against operating cash earnings before capital structure and accounting choices. You use it when you want to compare companies with different leverage, different tax positions or different depreciation policies.

   Then walk it

   1. Enterprise value is capital-structure neutral, and EBITDA is pre-interest, so numerator and denominator match. Both belong to all capital providers.
   2. It strips out D&A, so it lets you compare an asset-heavy company with an asset-light one on operating performance.
   3. It is the default in M&A and leveraged finance, because a buyer is buying the enterprise and will put its own capital structure on it.
   4. Where it fails: it ignores capital intensity entirely. Two companies with the same EBITDA but very different CapEx are not worth the same, and EV/EBITDA cannot see that.
   5. So for capital-heavy businesses I would look at EV/EBIT or EV/EBITDA less CapEx alongside it. And for banks it is meaningless, because interest is revenue.

   Where candidates lose it

   Not being able to say when it breaks. Everyone knows the formula. The candidate who volunteers 'it is blind to CapEx, so I would pair it with EV/EBIT for a capital-intensive business' has answered the real question.

   Expect next

   • What happens to EV/EBITDA when EBITDA increases?
   • How does EV/EBITDA vary across industries?
   • Why would you never use it for a bank?

   Reported by candidates at William Blair (Investment Banking, Chicago, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

2. 032How do you get from enterprise value to equity value without using an equation?ValuationCoretechnicalPIMCOFinancial Institutions Group · New York · 2023TSTruist SecuritiesCorporate Banking · Atlanta · 2025WBWilliam BlairMergers and Acquisitions · London · 2026

   Say this

   Enterprise value is the price of the operating business itself. To get to what shareholders own, you pay off everyone with a prior claim, then add back anything the business owns that is not part of operations.

   Then walk it

   1. Start with the value of the operating business, which is what enterprise value measures.
   2. Settle the lenders first, because they stand ahead of shareholders. Subtract debt.
   3. Add back cash, because cash is not part of the operating business and a buyer effectively gets it for free.
   4. Subtract the other prior claims: preferred stock, minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries, and funded pension shortfalls, since a buyer inherits those obligations.
   5. Add non-operating assets like stakes in unconsolidated affiliates or surplus real estate, because the operating cash flow never captured them.
   6. What is left is what the equity is worth. Divide by diluted shares and you have value per share.

   Where candidates lose it

   Reciting 'EV minus net debt' when the interviewer explicitly asked for no equation. They want the story of who gets paid in what order. Talk in terms of claims and seniority, not symbols.

   Expect next

   • How do you treat underfunded pensions in that bridge?
   • What is the equity ticker and how do you calculate it?
   • Why do you add back cash?

   Reported by candidates at PIMCO (Financial Institutions Group, New York, 2023); Truist Securities (Corporate Banking, Atlanta, 2025); William Blair (Mergers and Acquisitions, London, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

3. 057What makes a good LBO candidate?LBOCoretechnicalWPWarburg PincusPrivate Equity · San Francisco · 2014GSGuggenheim SecuritiesHealthcare · London · 2026

   Say this

   Predictable, recurring cash flow that can service debt, low capital intensity, a defensible market position, an identifiable operational improvement, and a credible exit. Cash flow stability matters more than growth.

   Then walk it

   1. Stable cash flow first, because the debt has to be serviced whatever happens. Contracted or subscription revenue, low cyclicality, sticky customers.
   2. Low CapEx, because every dollar into maintenance is a dollar not repaying debt.
   3. Strong market position and real barriers to entry, so margins survive the hold period without the company needing to outspend rivals.
   4. A visible value-creation lever: an underinvested sales function, a bloated cost base, a fragmented sector that supports a bolt-on strategy, or a non-core division to divest.
   5. And an exit that is not hypothetical. A deep strategic buyer list, or a peer set that trades publicly at a decent multiple. The best entry price in the world is worthless if nobody will buy it from you in five years.
   6. Conversely, the anti-candidate is a high-growth, cash-burning, cyclical business with heavy CapEx. It can be a great investment and a terrible LBO.

   Where candidates lose it

   Saying 'high growth' near the top of your list. Growth consumes cash and cash service is the constraint. Venture-style growth is the opposite of what an LBO needs, and saying so shows you understand why the structure exists.

   Expect next

   • Tell me about a company you like. Is it a good LBO candidate?
   • Why is high growth not necessarily good here?
   • What type of company is a good candidate for a dividend recap?

   Reported by candidates at Warburg Pincus (Private Equity, San Francisco, 2014); Guggenheim Securities (Healthcare, London, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

4. 072Where did the S&P 500 close last night, and what is the 10-year trading at?Markets and dealsCorephone / HireVueMSMorgan StanleyWealth Management · Boca Raton · 2026RCRBC Capital MarketsSales and Trading · London · 2025

   Say this

   There is no clever answer to this one. You either know the levels or you do not, and not knowing them tells the interviewer you do not follow markets.

   Then walk it

   1. Know the index level and the direction of the last session. Approximate is fine; blank is not.
   2. Know the 10-year Treasury yield, the policy rate, oil, gold, and the dollar index. For an India-facing interview, add the Nifty, the 10-year G-sec and the rupee.
   3. Have one sentence on why the market moved. 'Equities were up on a softer inflation print and the 10-year fell about five basis points' is a complete answer.
   4. If you genuinely do not know, say so once, quickly, and give the level you last checked with the date. Do not guess a precise number.
   5. Build the habit rather than cramming: five minutes a morning on one market wrap for the two weeks before you interview is enough.

   Where candidates lose it

   Guessing a precise number and being wrong. That is worse than admitting you have not checked since yesterday. Interviewers on trading floors do this specifically as a preparation test, and they already know the answer.

   Expect next

   • Why did it move?
   • What is X commodity trading at?
   • What do you think the index closes at by year end?

   Reported by candidates at Morgan Stanley (Wealth Management, Boca Raton, 2026); RBC Capital Markets (Sales and Trading, London, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

5. 073How does a bank make money?Markets and dealsCorephone / HireVueJ.P. MorganPrivate Banking · Charlotte · 2026

   Say this

   Two engines: net interest income, which is the spread between what it pays depositors and earns on loans and securities, and fee income from advisory, underwriting, trading, asset management and payments.

   Then walk it

   1. Net interest income is the classic bank business. Borrow short and cheap from depositors, lend long and dearer. The spread times the balance sheet is the revenue, and it is levered, which is why capital rules exist.
   2. Fee income is everything that does not consume much balance sheet: M&A advisory, ECM and DCM underwriting, trading commissions and spread capture, asset and wealth management fees, and transaction banking.
   3. The costs are compensation, which dominates, technology, regulatory and compliance, and credit losses through the provision line.
   4. The distinction that matters for an investment bank specifically: advisory revenue is capital-light and cyclical, while lending revenue is capital-heavy and steadier. That is why banks cross-sell, using the balance sheet to win the advisory mandate.
   5. So for a universal bank the shape is: net interest income for stability, fees for the upside, and the credit cycle as the thing that occasionally takes it all back.

   Where candidates lose it

   Answering only 'they lend money at a higher rate than they borrow'. For an investment banking interview you must name fee income and, ideally, the cross-sell point about using lending to win advisory work. That is the actual business model you are joining.

   Expect next

   • What are the biggest challenges banks face today?
   • How would that change in a falling rate environment?
   • Which revenue line would you want to be in and why?

   Reported by candidates at J.P. Morgan (Private Banking, Charlotte, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

6. 091What angle is formed by the clock hands at 3:15?BrainteasersCoretechnicalCenterview PartnersInvestment Banking · Menlo Park · 2025

   Say this

   7.5 degrees. The minute hand is exactly on the 3, but the hour hand has moved a quarter of the way from 3 to 4. Each hour is 30 degrees, so a quarter of that is 7.5.

   Then walk it

   1. The clock face is 360 degrees over 12 hours, so each hour mark is 30 degrees apart.
   2. At 3:15 the minute hand sits exactly at the 3, which is 90 degrees from twelve.
   3. The hour hand does not stay on the 3. In 15 minutes it travels a quarter of the way to the 4, which is a quarter of 30 degrees, so 7.5 degrees past the 3.
   4. The gap between them is therefore 7.5 degrees.
   5. The general formula worth having: the angle equals the absolute value of 30 times the hour minus 5.5 times the minutes. Here that is 90 minus 82.5, which is 7.5.

   Where candidates lose it

   Answering zero, because you assumed both hands are on the 3. The hour hand moves continuously, and that is the entire point of the question. Say the formula afterwards to show it was not luck.

   Expect next

   • When is the next time the hands overlap exactly?
   • How many times a day do the hands overlap?
   • How many 0s are in 1000 factorial?

   Reported by candidates at Centerview Partners (Investment Banking, Menlo Park, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

7. 093Lilypads double every day and cover the pond on day 30. On what day was the pond half covered?BrainteasersCoretechnicalHWHarris WilliamsGeneralist · Richmond · 2025

   Say this

   Day 29. If the area doubles every day, then the day before it was full it must have been exactly half. Work backwards, not forwards.

   Then walk it

   1. Doubling means the step from half to full takes exactly one day.
   2. Full on day 30 therefore means half on day 29.
   3. The instinct to halve the number of days and say 15 is the trap. On day 15 the pond is about one thirty-two-thousandth covered, since it doubles fifteen more times.
   4. The general principle: in exponential growth, almost all of the accumulation happens at the very end. That is why the answer feels wrong.
   5. It is worth naming the finance version, because that is why the question gets asked: compounding, and the danger of extrapolating an exponential trend from a small base.

   Where candidates lose it

   Saying day 15. It is the reflex answer and it is wrong by a factor of thirty thousand. Answer in one second, then add the exponential-growth observation so it reads as understanding rather than recall.

   Expect next

   • What does that tell you about compounding?
   • If I make 8 times my money in 6 years, what is my IRR?
   • How would you spot a business at the steep part of that curve?

   Reported by candidates at Harris Williams (Generalist, Richmond, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

8. 096Why investment banking, and why this firm?FitCorephone / HireVueGoldman SachsInvestment Banking · New York · 2026CitiInvestment Banking · San Francisco · 2025TSTruist SecuritiesInvestment Banking · Charlotte · 2026Deutsche BankInvestment Banking · London · 2022Rothschild & CoInvestment Banking · London · 2025

   Say this

   Three beats: a specific moment that got you interested, what you did to test that interest, and one concrete reason for this firm that could not be copy-pasted to a competitor.

   Then walk it

   1. The origin has to be specific and true. A deal you followed, a project where you built a model, a company in your family, a case competition. Not 'I have always been passionate about finance'.
   2. Then the evidence that you tested it, because interest is cheap and action is not. A society, a self-taught model, an internship, a stock you have tracked for two years.
   3. Then why banking rather than the adjacent options, and be honest about the trade you are making. Something like: I want the transaction seat rather than the research seat because I want to be inside the execution, and I know what the hours cost.
   4. Then why this firm, with one fact that is true only of them: a specific deal, a sector franchise, the size of the analyst class, the staffing model. One real fact beats three generic compliments.
   5. Keep it to about ninety seconds and finish cleanly instead of trailing off. Then stop talking.

   Where candidates lose it

   A 'why this firm' answer that would work for any of their competitors. Interviewers hear forty versions a day and the generic ones blur. Name one thing only they do, and if you have spoken to someone there, say who and what they told you.

   Expect next

   • Why you over the other candidates from your university with the same experience?
   • What do you think analysts actually do day to day?
   • Which group do you want and why?

   Reported by candidates at Goldman Sachs (Investment Banking, New York, 2026); Citi (Investment Banking, San Francisco, 2025); Truist Securities (Investment Banking, Charlotte, 2026); Deutsche Bank (Investment Banking, London, 2022); Rothschild & Co (Investment Banking, London, 2025). 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.