Interview for Commercial Banking
I have a phone interview for the commerical banking development program at HSBC soon and am wondering what types of questions I might be asked. Given that I'm not exactly sure what someone in this program would actually do, I am unsure of what to expect.
I was a SA in S&T this past summer and am wondering how I might be able to spin that experience to make it clear that I'm interested in commercial banking instead.
Any thoughts?
HSBC Commercial Banking First Round Interview
A preliminary interview for commercial banking with HSBC will be very behavioral and focused on why you want to work with HSBC and in CB. The OP followed up with a post describing the interview:
The interview was all behavioral plus the standard why CB and why HSBC - not bad at all if you have had some practice with those questions.
Below our users shared their advice about what to prepare for going into the interview:
It will be all behavioral. Know why HSBC, some basic accounting stuff. Be able to talk about the bank and why you want to work for one of the worlds largest international banks.It is a sweet gig though. You go to London for a month when the program is done for global development training.
When looking to answer the question Why HSBC - you can read more on the HSBC corporate website to find more about the company's corporate values.
Learn how to answer "Why...?" questions with the WSO FREE Finance Interview Questions and Answers guide.
You also need to be ready to answer the question - "Why commercial banking over S&T?" coming from an S&T internship:
Why CB over S&T:
- You want to "take a step back" and get a better sense of how businesses are run
- You want exposure to a variety of industries
- You value the transactional nature of the workflow
- Given that the credit markets are playing a large impact in the global malaise, you want to get a better understanding of credit
- You value helping businesses grow with the extension of credit
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It will be all behavioral. Know why HSBC, some basic accounting stuff. Be able to talk about the bank and why you want to work for one of the worlds largest international banks.
It is a sweet gig though. You go to London for a month when the program is done for global development training.
Why CB over S&T:
-You want to "take a step back" and get a better sense of how businesses are run -You want exposure to a variety of industries -You value the transactional nature of the workflow -Given that the credit markets are playing a large impact in the global malaise, you want to get a better understanding of credit -You value helping businesses grow with the extension of credit
good response. Interview should be VERY laid back. Not many S&T guys want to make the switch to commercial so they will likely assume you are sharp and focus on behavior.
What kind of accounting questions would be asked?
Thanks for the responses guys - very helpful. The interview was all behavioral plus the standard why CB and why HSBC - not bad at all if you have had some practice with those questions.
I was asked why CB over IB once for Bofa and I almost chuckled
i was asked behavioral + what acct/finance exp i have (coursework)
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