How to answer "Where are you at with other firms?"

Honesty is the best policy. Read the situation and try to guess as to why they are asking you that questions. Is it because they want to rush an offer with you? They simply are asking out of curiosity? is it something else?

Whenever I had an offer in hand or an interview secured, I would plainly say "I am interviewing with other firms for both similar and different positions than this one. However, after speaking with the recruiting team, whatever contacts you made, my top choice is working here in this role"

Even if that was total BS, praise the firm that asks you that question and never put down any other firm. Be able to actually point out why this firm in particular is your top choice even if it is complete BS.

Just tell them where you are at with other firms.

Honesty is always the best policy, with one caveat - you don’t want to come off as scattered to the interviewer. When I was interviewing, if my interviewer asked me to call out specific firms I was interviewing with (which happened a few times), I would list firms / groups comparable to the one I was interviewing with.

For example, if you’re interviewing with BAML Palo Alto, saying JP SF is fine because it’s a comparable option (Bay Area, tech focus, financing + advisory work, etc.), but saying you’re interviewing with Moelis NY might not be a great idea because it’s a COMPLETELY different option (in NY, industry agnostic, purely advisory work + RX, EB not BB, etc.).

A big part of the interview is showing that you know what you want and you know what you’re getting into. If you are interviewing w a wide spread of banks, that’s fine, but it can be a red flag to the interviewer (indicating that you don’t really know what you want / are just desperate for ANY job in finance). It’s alright if you don’t know what you want and are desperate for any job in finance, but don’t show that in the interview.

Seeing some of the answers above, why would you give the name of another firm you are interviewing at?

In my opinion, you should always give out just enough information. I would find it inappropriate if an interviewer flat out asked me the name of other firms I was in the process with. Stick to general locations or types of firms as suggested above (i.e. other MM's/BB's in SF) or something.

Also, even if you aren't interviewing with other firms, you are likely actively considering or applying to other firms, so the answer to your question should always be yes. No one only ever applies to one job or one college.

When I was going through the process for EBs, some of them asked where I was with other firms, and some asked for specific names. The recruiting timeline was early and very quick that year

Say they ask you and you say you're focusing mostly on BB's or MM's or whatever(depending on the bank). They ask for specific names and stuff. If you politely refuse to tell them, would that be a red flag?