Earnings call questions

No requirement. Sometimes the call queues are too full and not all analysts get to ask questions.

No requirement but every analyst at a major bank makes sure to get on there. It's important to stay top of mind for clients and company management. It's also a good platform to ask a smart question because it'll be read thousands of times by a relevant audience.

It's really just a formality. As someone else said, it doesn't hurt to have your name on the transcript, but any big questions you have will probably be asked when you do a separate follow up call.

Varies a lot from analyst to analyst. Some will ask "model" questions, i.e. literally things they need to know for forecasting like "is this a good expense run-rate," etc. Others will just try to look smart in front of management and just ask more high-level macro type questions about company strategy. Some analysts just ask some crazy stuff. But definitely analysts want to ask a question and be visible to management and whoever may read the transcript.

No requirements at all. You'll typically see analysts with formal coverage asking most of the questions, though. If you ask something, make it a legit question and not an inquiry that makes us face-palm. Don't ask something you should know ("What's your depreciation for 1Q again?), absurdly picky ( "I see your DSO rose 0.023 days bps y/y. Why?) or something management will never answer ("What are the odds you'll sell out to Company X by 3Q?). You don't want to look like a fool and have it recorded!

You can instantly tell who the bad analysts are - the guys/gals that say 'congrats on a good quarter' when it clearly wasn't one