Hello all, I have an upcoming super day with a BB for a corporate banking position (SA) and I have several questions about it. I appreciate all input, and believe me I have gone through all the searches for these topics.
-What kind of questions should I expect for CB? I know there are extensive guidelines for ib interviews but I am really not sure exactly what CB does, I know they are more relationship oriented and about giving loans. My interpretation is that Corporate Banking's main function is to provide credit to corporate clients and/or connect them with the right teams to perform more serious work (like M&A). Am I far off on this? Am I missing some components? Any advice on what to study and more information? How technical could this get?
-How are my chance of moving from an SA in CB to FT offer in IB? Would my best chance be at the same BB who gives me my internship?
-What are exit opps like should I choose to remain with CB, would I have a decent chance at a good PE or VC firm?
Thanks.
kind of a random question, but can you pm me what school/bank this is? I just had a first round for cb and I just want to know if its the same lol
still looking for answers, bump
It depends on your group and bank, but if it's an analytical role (i.e. you're underwriting transactions) then I would still expect a lot of technical questions and credit analysis. A lot of the accounting-esque questions from investment banking guides would still apply, such as calculating and defining EBITDA, how does so and so run through the three statements, etc. There probably wouldn't be any valuation questions, though. For credit analysis, you should start thinking about considerations when funding debt to a company, such as the company and industry risks, credit ratios, etc.
But, like I said earlier, this will differ from bank and group. Some corporate banking groups just have a much more thorough and rigorous underwriting process and, therefore, require more analysis and technical knowledge. In the less analytical and technical roles, the questions would probably just be all fit since you're really just there to help with pitchbooks (although less analysis and probably no financial models) and keep track of call logs or something.
I'm a first year analyst in corporate banking, so feel free to PM me for any other questions you might have.
Corp banking at a BB will be lending to clients with revenues typically in excess of $1B. Common products include term loans, revolving lines of credit, bridge loans, syndicated facilities, etc. Commitments can be secured or unsecured depending if its an ABL or not.
There is a good article on M&I called "Corporate Banking 101" that is worth a read.
I would know how the financial statements interrelate, accounting, basic finance. Interviews won't be like IBD where you need to think about valuation, DCF, etc. but expect similar accounting/finance questions as you'd get in an IBD interview with the exception of valuation type questions.
Also the big thing to figure out is "Why corporate banking?" Some of the benefits of corporate banking over IBD is that corp banking is relationship focused, has great work-life balance (in comparison to IBD) while still being lucrative, gives you a solid skill set in financial statement analysis, cash flow modeling, understanding of collateral, and gives you the ability to develop a long term career (you can move into associate and vp roles without having to go back to MBA or needing to bring in business as in IBD if you are on the credit side). There are a variety of roles under the CB umbrella such as credit, sales/RM, risk, etc.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
B2Banker, Thank you for your comments. I have some more questions about CB. What are the exact roles for each variety roles you mentioned? (credit, sales/RM, risk) And what kind of skillset and expectations are there for each roles?
Thank you.
Credit path: Analyst (3yrs) --> Associate (3+years) --> VP, etc.
So analysts and associates do the analysis. Analysts do monitoring and underwriting, associates check over work of analysts and help develop them and take the analysis one step further. Above roles deal with credit from a strategic point of view and are client facing in comparison to analysts/associates.
Background is business degree in finance/accounting. You can have other business type degrees too but an understanding of accounting is really necessary for success as the role involves financial statement analysis and modeling/projections. Need to know excel as you use it more than you do in commercial banking.
RM path: Same titles as credit with similar time line. The difference here is you also need sales skills and have to be able to close deals. Starting off you wont be going out in front of clients but rather assisting the corporate bankers manage their book.
You also need a business background and a strong understanding of credit as your clients are companies with revenues > 1bn and will have financially sophisticated management. You can get away with knowing a lot less about credit/business acumen with smaller clients as management is less sophisticated.
Can anyone comment on compensation at the Sr. Associate level at Citi in the Corporate Bank?
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