Citi Sales & Trading Summer Analyst Interview

What was the general feel there. Did it seem like they were worried about losing jobs considering Citi is gonna cut back big (if not completely) on prop trading. I know S&T is flow side but still...did they mention anything

Bernankey:

I was recruiting for them through NYU, and I didn't get any technicals or brainteasers. Just fit and market knowledge. Have a stock pitch.

your first post is bringing back a 2 year old thread?

I think you're worrying too much....they're interviewing you for an internship....they just ask basic technical questions and the rest is fit....and you can't learn much in just three weeks anyway.

Which school are you from and is this for Asia or NYC?

Relax a little bit. They won't be grilling you on trading strategies for an internship interview unless you specifically make reference to them on your resume. Be prepared to speak extensively about ANYTHING that is on your resume, specifically your prior work experience. And from what you did in other internships, I would expect to get some questions about why you now want to do S&T rather than WM, PE, Corp/finance.

Also maybe expect a few brainteasers thrown in there and some quick mental math questions.

Take a look at some of the guides (WSO/Vault) if you want some more specific S&T questions.

this is for nyc

thanks billy ray. btw, i really like that movie. kind of old fashioned, but characters are classic.

NYC SA recruiting started?

i think so. all interviews are scheduled for jan.

bump What kind of people is s+t looking for in the SA programs? what kind of personal traits/aptitude would stand out the most? im just nervous cuz i dont know if id be a perfect "fit" even though im fully capable of learning the knowledge skills to do the job

Other Juniors: don't freak out-- every school's schedule is different. my school was also one of the later ones, and the posts on this sites about SA interviews in December/January definitely didn't help me..but turns out the number of kids they took was pretty normal compared to others.

OP: Don't get yourself lost amidst all the books. You should know the basics about stocks and bonds for sure, but I'd spend more of your time working on the fit/personality half of your interview than memorizing equations and strategies. S&T cares about "personality" or "passion for the markets" in interviews a lot more than the others, in my opinion.

Have interviews already been scheduled? Damn, I didn't get a single one then : /

Sorry to break it to you kid, but Johns Hopkins is NOT a top tier school.

I applaud your concern to learn, but let me be honest with you... obviously i dont know you in person, but reading what you wrote.. you need to chill just a little bit.. the people interviewing you will read that your worked up in the wrong way.. the whole idea is to be able to handle pressure...

Crack's Heard on the street is a must have book for probability questions they might ask.. though they might not ask as many/difficult ones as a prop shop..

Hull's Derivative Book is good to learn.. but you wouldnt need that for SA but it doesnt hurt....

If I was you.. Id do this:

go to thinkorswim.com open up a fake money PA and trade trade trade.. itl get you plugged into the market and know whats going on... read Crack's book.. if you want to do trading its a must... Read up on technicals, supports/resistances candlestick patterns.. wiki bonds (if you dont know if your interviewing for fixed income or equities and read about how to price a bond)... 3 weeks is more than enough to do all of these... do this.. take over the interview and talk about your "passion" using technicals about your personal account and why you got in/left a particular trade... and CALM DOWN be cool.. if you do this youll ace it guranteed..dont waste your time trying to understand the formulas.. at the most just know what Black Scholes is suppose to do... they really wont ask you about detailed mathematical formulas.. and if u bring it up because you read a book.. and then they grill you.. i promise you, youll only hurt yourself..

good luck

some technical but mostly fit type interview

If you know everything thats going on in the markets with the specific product/desk your interview for you should be good. But have the basics down....resume, story, sell sell sell

I wasnt asked any technicals..mostly fit...a stock pitch...where is the market going

super day =Super Thick =Super dick

i heard back the next day around evening.

Is that for FT recruiting?

yes, summer superday is still weeks away.

I still haven't heard either

had a superday for commodities in houston on 10/12. waiting to hear back, but they said to expect 5 offers out of 15 applicants spread across 2 superdays. houston s&t odds seem like 8x as good as nyc s&t odds

Lots of banks wait til the last minute to give out offers... wait out the last couple of days but don't let the wait stop your search altogether. Expect the best and prepare for the worst.

what office? is this for new york?

i've gotten information for the asia office, and a friend mind heard back from the ny office for corporate functions, but no one for client services yet

Last year they had super days in February still.

How long does it take for Citi to contact you for interviews? I applied last week but haven't heard anything yet.

Last year I was invited to one in the end of February. I had already accepted another offer though so I had to decline.

I had a superday on Dec 12 and got the offer. the next superday for Citi I know of is Jan 16

I know first round interviews will be until at least next Friday.

I am having my first round of Interview today,,,, is it too late???

Maybe you should ask the traders there! I'm sure they'd be glad to help.

they did not cut their bonus pool, therefore they are probably strong. big balance sheet, best FX platform on the street (JPM tried buying Citi during the crisis specifically to gain their FX capabilities, or so I've heard), top 3 in mortgages, probably decent in rates/credit.

Not so strong in equity.

Look at their quarterly financials, they state what their revenue and compensations are, then compare that to other banks you view as their competitors (BAML, JPM)

I mean dcm is in the basement...so there's that

Thanks a lot everyone for the information.

I am going to interview with Citigroup soon for their S&T SA London Position.

Is the above info even true for London? I have heard munis isn't that great in London

Lets be honest, whoever asks "why XYZ bank" for any BB SA interviews is a bit of a tool. The true answer is always "im applying to all of them and I will get picky when i have more than 1 offer"

So why do you think you fucked up?

He was probably looking to see if you understood the impact rising rates would have on Citi. Not that simple of a question for a junior so don't think it definitely killed you, more just about how much of a dick he might be and how the other guys he interviewed did.

Iran is not decreasing the supply of oil.

I don't think its a big deal, you should be fine

your answers were not horrible...but not great. They showed that you have heard some buzz words and are not totally naive...but also not a dedicated trader yet (but that is kindof normal for college students). Not an instant ding....but not enough to woo a trader who is looking for a superstar. So it really depends on the quality of your competition.

for example...here is how i would have responded.

re the Fed impacted by high interest rates...i really do not understand what you mean (the Fed SETS short term interest rates)...head scratcher...but perhaps there is context that you left out...or this was just word vomit which i would interpret as you not being well versed in interest rates.

re Oil: Saudia Arabia (a US geopolitical ally) has pot committed (poker reference) to putting the uneconomic US frackers out of business...while simultaneously punishing Russia (a desire of the US)...so this is as much a political situation as it is economic. I'd estimate that US frackers will not give up until they are forced to (until they have exhausted all lines of credit and forced to liquidate by their lenders thru bankruptcy)...and that may take up to another 6-12 months. With Iran supply coming onto the market, the amount of supply that will need to leave the market in order to cause a significant rally in crude is rather large. So long as the Saudis do not reduce their output (and thus, the rest of OPEC who will follow their lead), and the US frackers are sill pumping at full capacity, crude will not be able to sustain a significant rally. However, after the US frackers stop their un-economic operations, then the Saudis will probably pull back on production, and OPEC will follow suit....then the price of crude can rally back to a healthy range above $60. This is a game of chicken where in the short term, everybody loses except the US consumer who gets to pay low prices for gasoline (in the short term).

re interest rates and risks to Citi: as a lender, Citi benefits from a steep yield curve (net interest margin) - higher long term (30yr) interest rates vs lower short term (less than 2 year) rates. With the 2/30 curve below 200 basis points, Citi (and the other lender banks) , faces a flattening yield curve, when they really need the yield curve to steepen because of the global economic weakness. Since the Fed raised rates for the first time back in Dec, the curve has flattened...not steepened (which is to be expected when you twerk the front-end in a weak economic backdrop) Equities seem to have peaked for this cycle, and US rates are the safe haven bond market with the highest yields...so large pensions and central banks like Japan and others will be more likely to buy the long end of the US yield curve...which will keep the yield curve from steepening, and more likely cause even more flattening in the coming year. So the net interest margin for Citi does not look to be improving much in the near future.
Regarding the Fed, if they continue to raise rates (which i don't think they will do with China crashing and global equities taking a hit...but who knows?) then that will flatten and potentially invert the yield curve. This typically causes a recession, and will even further impair the net interest margin for future lending (global recession = more bankruptcies = loan losses). Citi has been sitting on piles of toxic debt & assets that may never be monetized after the GFC, so they need a higher net interest margin to offset those losses...which will take many years. This requires a steeper yield curve...and for the reasons mentioned it doesn't look like we will see that in the near future, so the price of Citt stock will stay depressed vs 10 years ago. There is also counterparty risk with Deutche Bank under pressure recently (because of exposure to europe)....that would be just like Lehman if they go under, and that is another wildcard. Ideally, banks like citi are already in process of unwinding their swap books with DB, but that is difficult to do, and so if they go boom, it will be very hard to predict the damage...except to say, there will be damage.

Regarding Japan: i'd say that NIRP (negative interest rate policy) will even further incentivize assets to leave Japan, and the US (both bonds and stocks) will be a beneficiary. I honestly don't understand this policy choice...the BOJ is grasping at straws here. Its been 30 years of stagnation in Japan and they refuse to make the hard choices (accept defeat, print Yen to reduce the debt and accept extreme 50% currency devaluation). History teaches us that Japan won't make this choice on their own...the market will have to force the issue...which means more drawn out suffering for the population...vs a short term of suffering that precedes real economic growth. Recessions precede growth...that is just the nature of economic cycles. The longer you put off the recession, the longer you put off the future growth (its been 30 years, and they still refuse to accept defeat). This is not an easy policy choice....but as is often the case, the "right" policy choice is almost never the "easy" policy choice. A weaker Yen would make Japan more competitive for its exporters (unfortunately, since Japan is a net importer of raw materials, a weak Yen will hurt their imports...winners and losers...)

On a lighter note - its funny how history seems to repeat itself, even over very long time periods...and we are approaching an inflection point in the economic cycle.

For oil, I would've spoken about the increased efficiency & cost cutting in US shale operations, OPEC not wanting to lose market share, mention Iran adding more supply into the equation and how I thought a new normal for oil prices would more than likely emerge until those (or similar) circumstances began to change. Maybe talk about LNG as well. RBN Energy has some good free articles that I HIGHLY recommend you read. In my opinion, that's far more concrete and shows how you approach analysis... in depth and to the point, rather than say reading the NY Times and regurgitating geopolitics. I don't work for a bank, but that's how I would answer the question.