Silicon Valley Bank Interview Questions

23 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (98%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

4
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (89%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.7
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (87%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

80%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Silicon Valley Bank

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
2nd Year Associate
Year 2022
Job Title 2nd Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location San Francisco
Experience
Very Negative
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2023
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Nashville
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2023
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Credit Risk
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)
Location San Francisco
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2022
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Credit Risk
Location London
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division N/A
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Commercial Banking
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Commercial Banking
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2018
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Commercial Banking
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Silicon Valley Bank Examples

Corp Dev Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco
Interviewed: November 2022
Date Submitted: Jan 09, 2024
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Started off with a screener with the recruiter. Next step was a call with the VP of Corp Dev, and was a pretty simple call and resume screen. I thought it went well, until I was completely ghosted after following up a number of times. Overall an interesting experience, hope that someone sees this before they consider interviewing.
Interview Questions
What do you know about SVB?
Sample Answer

IB Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Nashville
Interviewed: January 2023
Date Submitted: Jun 25, 2023
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Hirevue with extremely basic investment banking questions. (Walk me through your resume, 3 financial statements, why SVB, 3 valuation methods)
Interview Questions
What do you think the day to day role of an analyst is?
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Credit Risk

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: February 2023
Date Submitted: Mar 08, 2023
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Great and smart people. make sure to research SVB before your interview! If you do that and be honest you'll be greatly appreciated by them.
Interview Questions
Market question. Make sure to know what happens in the economy.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Intern Interview - Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)

Anonymous interview candidate in San Francisco
Interviewed: October 2021
Date Submitted: Sep 23, 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied online without any networking. Had a recruiter set me up with an associate for first round--super casual. Was told I'd be moved to a superday during the interview. Superday consisted of 3 interviews with VPs. 2 behavioral and 1 technical.
Interview Questions
No unexpected questions. Fairly typical behavioral and technical questions. DCF, valuation, etc.
Sample Answer

Associate 1 Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: April 2022
Date Submitted: Apr 20, 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Initially I spoke on the phone with a recruiter for the position. The next pet of the process will be speaking with a hiring manager and 1st and second round interviews.
Interview Questions
What drew you to banking and why do you want to work in this section of banking?
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Credit Risk

Anonymous employee in London
Interviewed: January 2020
Date Submitted: Oct 12, 2021
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Personality Test
Background Check
Interview
Applied online to then have a phone call with HR - a very friendly process with huge emphasis on personality over everything else

Subsequently, 1 on 1 interviews were conducted. Prior knowledge is not needed but critical thinking and an interest in the relevant market spaces is important.
Interview Questions
The most difficult questions focus on how you would resolve challenges in the workplace, a well articulated STAR response may put you in good stead
Sample Answer

Associate Development Program Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: September 2020
Date Submitted: Nov 19, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
IQ / Intelligence Test
Interview
Interview process was pretty simple. Talk with recruiter for the screening, do a HireVue with 4-5 questions, then meet with the team for a superday. On the superday, you do 4 rounds with members of the hiring committee and a meeting with 2 members that are currently in ADP. Most of my interviews went pretty well, but one of my interviewers was really dry and seemed like she didn't want to be there. I struggled to connect with her even though I felt like I connected with everyone else really well.Interview process was pretty simple. Talk with recruiter for the screening, do a HireVue with 4-5 questions, then meet with the team for a superday. On the superday, you do 4 rounds with members of the hiring committee and a meeting with 2 members that are currently in ADP. Most of my interviews went pretty well, but one of my interviewers was really dry and seemed like she didn't want to be there. I struggled to connect with her even though I felt like I connected with everyone else really well.
Interview Questions
Tell me about what makes you suited for the training part of this program. Tell me about how you are analytical and client-facing.
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Commercial Banking

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: January 2020
Date Submitted: Jan 13, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round phone screen with HR, followed by a hirevue with ~4 behavioral questions, followed by 4 virtual, 1 on 1 interviews. Typically, they will fly you out to Boston or Palo Alto for an in-person superday, but due to logistics I went through with a virtual interview.
Interview Questions
The entire process was all behavioral and centric around how my past internship experiences apply to the role. 1st round phone screen was simply gauging my interest in the program and my internship experience, the hirevue questions were related to location preferences, my core values, and standard behavioral questions.

The final round questions were all behavioral as well and included: what would your previous managers say you need improvement on, why you over other candidates, why SVB and why commercial banking, what do you think the program can offer you and you it, etc. Not very difficult.
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Commercial Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: September 2019
Date Submitted: Oct 01, 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied through on campus recruiting. Was selected for 1 on 1 interview on campus within a week. Interviewed the following week. Questions were entirely fit, maybe one technical question regarding lending.
Interview Questions
What is typically looked at during credit analysis of a company?

Why did you choose to pursue this program?

Are you ok with travel both during the training as well as upon full time permanent employment?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

Why did you choose finance as your major?

Why do you believe you would be a good fit for this program and for this company?

Explain a time when you had difficulties working in a team.

Do you typically like to work alone on projects or in a group?
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Commercial Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: November 2018
Date Submitted: Jan 14, 2019
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
IQ / Intelligence Test
Interview
The hiring process first began from on-campus recruiting. I applied online through my campus job portal then received an in-person 1-on-1 interview with an HR member. After the first round, I was given an email to come in for a final round interview in their Boston office which consisted on a technical assessment and then 5 rounds of 1-on-1 interviews with MDs at the firm.
Interview Questions
Most of the interview questions were fairly textbook questions that can be found on the wall street oasis guides on investment baking interview questions or online for commercial banking questions. Many of the questions are on fit and how well you will be able to work in their environment in the office. They also ask a lot about being able to relocate yourself as the program demands relocation after the initial training in the major offices in either Boston or San Francisco. Overall the questions are not too tough and stay fairly close to your CV and general interest in the firm.
Sample Answer