Interview question: why commercial banking and not IBD
Hi - currently an IBD Associate, been in IBD for 4-5 years but honestly mental health is doing shit. I want to stay in banking but in a role with 1) easier work and 2) good hours where I can have a real work life balance, finishing the day at a reasonable time and not working weekends. I'm not bothered by the lower pay, the work life balance is most important for my mental health right now.
I thought moving to commercial banking might be a good solution but I'm not sure how I can answer the "Why commercial banking instead of IBD" question without saying my true reasons. As I feel if I say my true reasons of wanting easier work with a better culture/work life balance etc.. it will definitely offend the interviewer as I would basically be calling their job chill and less hours than IBD which will make me sound arrogant and offensive.
Thanks!
The main difference between commercial/corporate banking and IB is that the former is about longstanding relationships and the latter is about one-off transactions. So, a clear reason as to why you would like to move to commercial banking is that you like the idea of building these relationships with many clients and helping them grow.
Outside of restructuring where most companies usually only get bankrupt once, IB absolutely is about long-standing relationships
May have phrased it badly, but commercial banking is about having a dedicated relationship manager/team who will offer traditional banking products such as loans/FX/deposits etc. The main focus in commercial banking is maintaining and building a relationship with clients consistently rather than when a client just needs a one-off transaction.
It's the corporate bankers who maintain the relationships, not investment bankers.
Eh I personally don’t think that it is bad to say the truth. Everyone knows banking hours are brutal. You can phrase it in that you don’t like banking hours, but still really enjoy finance and lay out the similar skill set / tasks. They will probably suspect the WLB aspect anyway since it is half the reason people leave banking
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