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. 047How are current macroeconomic conditions affecting the M&A market?Markets and dealsIntermediatetechnicalDeutsche BankInvestment Banking · Boston · 2025Perella Weinberg PartnersInvestment Banking · Houston · 2025

   Say this

   Work the chain from rates to deal volume: the cost and availability of debt sets what sponsors can pay, valuation gaps between buyers and sellers set whether processes clear, and confidence in forecasts sets whether boards will commit at all.

   Then walk it

   1. Rates first. Financing cost sets the sponsor's maximum entry multiple directly, because the deal has to service the debt. Higher rates compress what leverage can support.
   2. Then the bid-ask spread. Sellers anchor on the multiple they could have got two years ago, buyers price off today's cost of capital. When that gap is wide, processes get pulled and volume falls.
   3. Then financing availability, which is separate from price. Private credit has taken a large share of leveraged lending from the banks, so deals can now get done even when the syndicated market is shut.
   4. Then confidence. Boards do not approve transformational deals when they cannot forecast next year. That is why uncertainty hurts volume more than the level of rates does.
   5. And the composition effect worth naming: in tougher markets you see more all-stock mergers, more minority and structured deals, more corporate carve-outs as companies raise cash, and more take-privates when public multiples fall below private marks.

   Where candidates lose it

   Answering with stale numbers or none at all. You do not need to be right about the exact policy rate, but you must know roughly where rates sit and one live example of a deal or a sector that reflects it. Update this the week of your interview.

   Expect next

   • What makes a good IPO environment?
   • What would you expect to happen to deal volume next year?
   • How has private credit changed leveraged finance?

   Reported by candidates at Deutsche Bank (Investment Banking, Boston, 2025); Perella Weinberg Partners (Investment Banking, Houston, 2025). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

2. 050What makes a good IPO environment?Capital marketsIntermediatetechnicalMizuhoGeneralist · New York · 2026

   Say this

   Low volatility, rising or stable indices, recent IPOs trading above issue price, and sector multiples that let the issuer accept the price. The single best indicator is how the last three deals in the sector are trading.

   Then walk it

   1. Volatility is the gating factor. The VIX above roughly 25 effectively closes the window, because you cannot price a book when investors cannot price risk two weeks out.
   2. Aftermarket performance of recent deals matters more than the index level. If the last few IPOs broke issue, investors will not show up for the next one at any sensible price.
   3. Valuation levels have to be acceptable to the seller. A sponsor will not float an asset at a discount to its own carrying mark; it will wait or sell privately instead.
   4. You also need a receptive institutional bid with cash to deploy, and ideally a cornerstone or anchor investor willing to be named in the book.
   5. And a full pipeline is self-reinforcing. Windows tend to open and shut for everyone at once, which is why banks rush to price in the same three weeks.

   Where candidates lose it

   Listing 'good market conditions' without naming an observable. Volatility level and how the last three deals traded are the two things an ECM banker actually looks at. Name them specifically.

   Expect next

   • Why do IPOs get priced at a discount to fair value?
   • What is a greenshoe and why does it exist?
   • Would you advise a client to IPO or sell to a sponsor right now?

   Reported by candidates at Mizuho (Generalist, New York, 2026). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

3. 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.

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. 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.

6. 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.

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.

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.