DB IBD PHONE INTERVIEW

Hey Guys,

New to the forum. I am graduating next week.

In the fall I applied to many banks, hedge funds, PE firms. I was on top of my game, I went through the vault guide. Since the fall (didn't get past 1st or 2nd round), I have not really focused on any of my accounting or finance (I know that isn't the best situation, but I'm just being straightforward). This past semester I spent relaxing, and enjoying college.

Got contacted last month from Deutsche Bank, and I have an interview relatively soon.

I got A's in all of my finance and math courses. I understand CAPM, DCF, capital structuring of a company, derivative products. If I read through a finance guide once, I would be back on my game, and am planning on getting the WSO guide if I make it past the first round.

I basically have the next 10 hours or so to prep.

Any topics you think I should focus on specifically for the interview?

Questions I have answers for, but should strengthen are.

What is IB? Why IB? Why DB?

Since this is with a recruiter, I am assuming its mostly for fit. And then afterwards if they like me the next round would be more technical. Please let me know what you think.

9 Comments
 
Best Response

Congrats on the interview! Very cool that you managed to get an interview at this point. In terms of fit, I think you should try and come up with especially good reasons for why 1) your first choice is Deutsche Bank, and 2) you're a better candidate than your peers.

Know basic valuation techniques, accounting, how the three financial statements are connected together, etc. Know how to walk through a DCF very comfortably, including calculating the WACC.

 

i had a phone interview with a DB banker about a 4-6 weeks ago. from my memory here are the questions he asked me....hope this helps OP and future DB interviewees:

walk me through a DCF

what degree does a clock make at 3:15pm (not jk lol he did ask this)

what happens when depreciation goes up by $10 (very easy i knw, but DO NOT FUCK THIS UP)

what happens if i purchase $100 worth of fixed assets that depreciate over 10 year in time (straight line depreciation is what i used, he said was right... $100/10= $10 pr/year)? walk me through the 3 statements and what happens after the purchase. walk me through the statements after year 1, and year 5. (Answer: capX doesnt show up on income statement after the purchase because depreciation not realized yet. depreciation realized after year 1 and then consecutively until gone...so year 1 is $10 dep, year 5 $50 dep)

what are some common non-reoccurring charges added back to ebitda when finding ebitda of a comp?

I realized at the end of the year, that my PPE was overstated by $20, and had a tax rate of 40% last year. Correct this and how does it flow through the 3 financial statements? (basically just realize that the "adjustment" is now adding an extra $20 worth of depreciation....rest is easy)

if a company with an EPS of $10 purchases a company with an EPS of $9, will this be accretive or dilutive effect for the new company? (sorry about spelling)

what are some common trading multiple metrics? (ex- EV/EBITDA, EV/EBIT) When would you use one over the other? (ex- a company in an industry with standard of having HIGH CAPX would use EV/EBIT as capx is important)

which company would have a higher Beta and why? A consulting company vs a toy manufacturing company. Answer: Consulting would have higher beta. Consulting company has less hard assets, therefore less liquidity available during times of bankruptcy. Also, consulting company is based on human capital, they are company assets, can up and leave at any moment and company falls apart. Toy manufacturing company is more sustainable as factory is there and self sustainable (my interpretation, could be wrong-ish but he said i was in right direction)

what are the 3 most common ways of valuing a company? rank them in order of which usually gives the highest valuation and explain why for each.

okay tired of interview questions lol hope this helps! goodluck

and HOW DID YOU GET A PHONE INTERVIEW SO LATE IN THE PROCESS?!?

 
USCstudent26what degree does a clock make at 3:15pm (not jk lol he did ask this)

That 3:15pm question is classic. I've asked it plenty of times before, and some people just refuse to get to the right answer (it's not zero).

For reference, the exact question is some variation of "what is the angle between the minute and hour hands on a clock at 3:15." The answer is 7.5 degrees, equal to 1/4 of 1/12 of 360 (since the hour hand will be 1/4 of the way to 4 at 3:15).

 
asiamoney
USCstudent26what degree does a clock make at 3:15pm (not jk lol he did ask this)

That 3:15pm question is classic. I've asked it plenty of times before, and some people just refuse to get to the right answer (it's not zero).

For reference, the exact question is some variation of "what is the angle between the minute and hour hands on a clock at 3:15." The answer is 7.5 degrees, equal to 1/4 of 1/12 of 360 (since the hour hand will be 1/4 of the way to 4 at 3:15).

Perfectly said. Said 7.5

 

Networking, was a DB office abroad

Also i had a solid MM internship that i did during the year on my resume with decent exposure, so that could have been the reason for all the gdamn technicals lol

Mind answering how you got an interview this late? I will be a senior nxt year so want to see how FT recruitment can function that late at BB....

 

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