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. 071What is happening in the US economy right now?Markets and dealsIntermediatephone / HireVueJ.P. MorganPrivate Banking · Charlotte · 2026TSTruist SecuritiesRisk Management · Charlotte · 2026CitiGeneralist · London · 2026

   Say this

   Answer with a structure rather than a list of headlines: growth, inflation, the labour market, then what the central bank is doing about it, then what that means for your desk. Four numbers and one implication.

   Then walk it

   1. Know four figures cold on the morning of your interview: GDP growth, headline and core inflation, the unemployment rate, and the policy rate. Say them with the vintage, as in 'core PCE ran at X in the latest print'.
   2. Then the tension. There is almost always one: inflation sticky while the labour market softens, or growth resilient while rates stay restrictive. Naming the tension is what makes it analysis instead of recitation.
   3. Then the policy read: what the market is pricing for the next two or three meetings, and what would change it.
   4. Then bring it back to the seat. Something like: for M&A, a lower path for rates lowers the sponsor's cost of debt, which supports higher entry multiples and should reopen the large-cap LBO pipeline.
   5. Keep it to ninety seconds. This question tests preparation and judgement about relevance, not breadth.

   Where candidates lose it

   Reciting headlines with no numbers, or numbers with no implication for banking. Also, opinions about politics. Stay on the transmission mechanism from macro to your desk, and check your figures the morning of the interview because a stale print is worse than none.

   Expect next

   • How is that affecting the M&A market?
   • Describe Jerome Powell's tenure.
   • Where did the S&P 500 close last night?

   Reported by candidates at J.P. Morgan (Private Banking, Charlotte, 2026); Truist Securities (Risk Management, Charlotte, 2026); Citi (Generalist, London, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 074What is the biggest challenge facing banks today?Markets and dealsIntermediatetechnicalRCRBC 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

   1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. 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.
   4. Then technology and cost: legacy systems, payments competition from fintech, and now the cost of building AI infrastructure while the payoff is unproven.
   5. 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.

5. 075What are you seeing in your coverage sector right now, and where is the opportunity over the next 12 to 24 months?Markets and dealsHardsuperdayLazardMergers and Acquisitions · New York · 2026NomuraGeneralist · San Francisco · 2026

   Say this

   Answer like a banker pitching, not a student summarising. Name the structural change in the sector, then the deal type it generates, then the specific companies you would call.

   Then walk it

   1. Open with the structural driver. Something like: the sector has too many subscale players and a cost base that only works above a certain revenue level, so consolidation is inevitable.
   2. Then name the deal type that follows. Structural overcapacity means mergers of equals and take-privates. A regulatory change means carve-outs. A technology shift means acquisitions of capability.
   3. Then be specific about targets and buyers. Two or three names with a reason each. This is the part almost nobody does, and it is the part that gets you the offer.
   4. Then the constraint. What is stopping these deals from happening today, financing cost, a valuation gap, antitrust, a founder who will not sell? Naming the blocker shows you are thinking commercially.
   5. Close with the actual pitch: 'so over the next year I would expect the mid-cap names to be taken out, and the call I would make is to X.'

   Where candidates lose it

   Giving a sector summary with no deal thesis. Coverage bankers get paid to originate. If your answer does not end with a transaction and a name, you have answered a different question.

   Expect next

   • Who would buy them?
   • What is stopping that deal today?
   • Pitch me a company.

   Reported by candidates at Lazard (Mergers and Acquisitions, New York, 2026); Nomura (Generalist, San Francisco, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

6. 076Pitch me a stock to buy and one to sell.Markets and dealsIntermediatetechnicalBank of AmericaInvestment Banking · New York · 2023MSMorgan StanleySales and Trading · Tokyo · 2025Balyasny Asset ManagementEquity Hedge · New York · 2020

   Say this

   Lead with the recommendation and the target, then give the variant view, then the catalyst, then the risk. Ninety seconds. The variant view is the whole pitch: what do you believe that the market does not?

   Then walk it

   1. One sentence: 'I would buy X at its current level with a target of Y, about 30 percent upside over 12 months.'
   2. Then the business in two sentences, so the interviewer knows you understand what it actually sells.
   3. Then the variant view, which is the only part that matters. 'Consensus models margin flat; I think it expands 200 basis points because the pricing taken last year has not annualised yet.' No variant view means no pitch.
   4. Then the catalyst and the timeline. What event makes the market agree with you, and when.
   5. Then the two biggest risks and what would make you exit. And on the short side, be rigorous: a short thesis needs a catalyst and a borrow cost, because 'it is expensive' is not a thesis.
   6. Know the numbers behind it: revenue growth, margin, multiple, and roughly what the market values it at.

   Where candidates lose it

   Pitching a mega-cap that everyone covers, with a thesis that is just the consensus narrative. If your reason is the reason in the newspaper, there is no edge. And never pitch something you cannot defend on valuation.

   Expect next

   • What would make you change your mind?
   • Are you sure your thesis can be backed up? What if their costs do not fall?
   • How would you hedge this name?

   Reported by candidates at Bank of America (Investment Banking, New York, 2023); Morgan Stanley (Sales and Trading, Tokyo, 2025); Balyasny Asset Management (Equity Hedge, New York, 2020). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

7. 077Why is crypto lagging gold when both are meant to be hedges, and how is AI affecting equities and rates?Markets and dealsHardsuperdayNomuraGlobal Markets · New York · 2026

   Say this

   Because they are not the same hedge. Gold is a long-duration store of value with central bank demand behind it. Crypto has traded as a high-beta risk asset, correlated with tech, not as a haven.

   Then walk it

   1. The empirical point first: crypto's correlation has been with the Nasdaq, not with gold. It sells off when risk appetite falls, which is precisely when a hedge is supposed to work.
   2. Gold's bid is structurally different. Central bank buying, particularly reserve diversification away from dollar assets, is price-insensitive demand that crypto does not have.
   3. So the narrative of digital gold has not been validated by the correlation data, and that gap is the answer.
   4. On AI and equities: it has concentrated index returns in a handful of names, so index-level valuation is misleading. It has also turned a capital-light sector into a capital-heavy one, because hyperscaler capital expenditure is now enormous.
   5. On AI and rates: that capital expenditure is increasingly debt-funded, which means real issuance and upward pressure on yields at the long end. And the longer-run question is whether AI raises productivity enough to lift potential growth, which would raise the neutral rate.
   6. If I had to give one view: the AI trade has shifted from a margin story to a capital intensity story, and that is why it now shows up in credit markets as well as equity.

   Where candidates lose it

   Accepting the premise that both are hedges. The question contains a false assumption and the right move is to challenge it with the correlation evidence. Then pick one clear view on AI rather than describing both sides.

   Expect next

   • So would you own either?
   • What would change your view on crypto's correlation?
   • How is AI capital expenditure being funded?

   Reported by candidates at Nomura (Global Markets, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

8. 078Tell me a piece of recent news and how it affects this bank.Markets and dealsIntermediatetechnicalRCRBC Capital MarketsInvestment Banking · London · 2026BLBlackRockAsset 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

   1. 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.
   2. State the fact precisely, with the number. Vagueness here is fatal because it suggests you skimmed a headline.
   3. 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.
   4. 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.
   5. 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.

9. 079How would you value your school's most popular food truck, and what assumptions would you make?Case and estimationIntermediatetechnicalCitiInvestment Banking · New York · 2026

   Say this

   Build up the revenue from observable inputs, estimate margin, then apply a multiple appropriate to a tiny owner-operated business. Say every assumption out loud and keep the numbers round.

   Then walk it

   1. Revenue: it serves maybe 150 customers a day at an average ticket of $12, so about $1,800 a day. Open 300 days a year, so roughly $540,000 of annual revenue.
   2. Costs: food cost around 30 percent, one or two staff plus the owner at maybe $80,000 total, then permits, fuel, maintenance and the truck payment. Call it $120,000 of operating profit before the owner's own wage.
   3. Normalise for owner compensation, which is the step people skip. If the owner is working full time, you must charge a market salary, say $50,000, leaving about $70,000 of real EBITDA.
   4. Multiple: this is a tiny business with total key-person dependency, no contracts, and a licence that may not transfer. Two to three times EBITDA, so $140,000 to $210,000.
   5. Then the cross-checks: the replacement cost of a used truck and equipment is maybe $60,000 to $100,000, which sets a floor. And the location permit may be the single most valuable asset, in which case you are really valuing the licence, not the business.

   Where candidates lose it

   Applying a public-market multiple to a food truck. Small, owner-dependent businesses trade at two to four times EBITDA, not ten. And forgetting to charge for the owner's labour, which overstates EBITDA enormously in any small business case.

   Expect next

   • What if the permit is not transferable?
   • How would you value an apple tree?
   • What would make you pay more than replacement cost?

   Reported by candidates at Citi (Investment Banking, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

10. 080How do you value an apple tree?Case and estimationIntermediatetechnicalLincoln InternationalValuation · New York · 2023Rothschild & CoGeneralist · New York · 2026

    Say this

    As a finite-life cash-generating asset. Forecast the fruit it yields each year, price it, subtract the cost of harvesting, discount over the tree's productive life, and add any terminal value for the land or the timber.

    Then walk it

    1. Cash flows: say 200 kilos of apples a year at a dollar a kilo, so $200 of revenue, less picking, water and treatment of maybe $80. Call it $120 a year.
    2. Shape the life curve. A young tree yields little, a mature tree plateaus, an old tree declines. So this is not a flat annuity; it ramps, plateaus for twenty or thirty years, then falls away.
    3. No perpetuity, because the tree dies. Forecast to the end of the productive life and add salvage, which is the firewood or the cleared land.
    4. Discount rate: this is a risky agricultural cash flow exposed to weather, disease and commodity price. Something well into double digits.
    5. Then the three cross-checks that make it a valuation answer rather than an arithmetic one. Market: what do orchards sell for per tree or per acre? Replacement: what does it cost to buy and grow a sapling to maturity, including the years of no yield? And the option value: if the land under it is worth more as building plots, the tree is worth negative, because you would pay to remove it. That last point is the answer they are listening for.

    Where candidates lose it

    Treating it as a perpetuity. It is a finite-life asset, which is the whole reason the question gets asked. And missing that the highest-value use might be cutting it down, which is the insight that the asset's value depends on the alternative use of what it sits on.

    Expect next

    • What if the land is worth more as development?
    • How does this differ from valuing a mine?
    • What discount rate would you use?

    Reported by candidates at Lincoln International (Valuation, New York, 2023); Rothschild & Co (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.