technical/computer skills for banking

goblanExcel. VBA helps too.

I also has the same confused, and may be R, or Excel VBA?

You're at an ivy. Relax. You won't get as technical questions I'd guess.

You do have to know some of the basics. Pick a cheap textbook on introduction to finance, and read it.

Might sound corny, but it's so true: read everything you can. Just read through a finance book. Also, do yourself a favor and check out the endless supply of resources out there: ibankingfaq.com comes to mind. There are others. Start with the basics, like the Vault guides and ibankingfaq, and you'll see what kind of general things you should know.

It was fairly rare that I was asked any technical questions even for full-time hiring, but because you're an econ major, you may be asked questions about material you would have learned in your classes. In fact, out of a zillion interviews, I can remember the two (yes, two) technical questions I was asked. The first was "If I asked you a technical question, would you be able to answer it?" to which I responded "It's very unlikely," and he asked me some really easy question that I still blanked on. The second was essentially some sort of bond-valuation question with a twist. Based on your background, people asking you these things are just trying to see what you've read up on. As long as you don't go in there acting like you SHOULD know the answer to technical questions (like saying you took finance classes), chances are if anyone asks you them, they're just trying to see how you react under stress.

http://ibankinglife.blogspot.com

Don't know about the online stuff, but....

I'd recommend a basic book on accounting, and then the book "Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies" by Copeland, Koller, and Murrin.

Classic text on the subject. I think it's around $80 (although someone who has recently purchased it will have more current pricing info--mine's about 4 years old).

You should build some solid Excel skills, too. Plenty of books on financial modeling with Excel out there.

dealmaven.com

The Copeland valuation book is a classic, however I've found that in every day practice there are other books that are equally, if not more valuable. Anybody in valuation, generally subscribes to works by these two authors as well:

Aswath Damodaran: - "Valuation: Measuring and Valuing the Value of Companies"

Pratt & Reilly: - "Valuing a Company"

Damodaran is great, too. He's got a (free) website with boatloads of stuff on corporate finance, etc. The Excel models he's posted on the site are a tad simplistic, but everything is worth exploring.

http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/

Thanks for the help everyone...I appreciate the input.

Do any of you know of any study materials for this sort of thing that comes with valuation software?

If you can find anyone who's a first year analyst they'll have plenty of valuation booklets that they received on their training and don;t really use anymore. GS, Merril definately have good booklets that'll teach the essentials

TheAnalystExchange is a live class that you can take via the internet. For someone that has no background, it may be a better experience than reading out of a book. Plus they help you with interview practice, etc.