what do you know about us? why XYZ bank? question

i have a few interviews coming up for SA positions, and i know these questions are almost always asked at all banks. to answer such questions, what kind of research would you recommend? would you recommend searching for the XYZ bank on places like wsj.com or finance.yahoo.com and know what kind of headlines they've been making? should you be familiar with the numbers they report at SEC?

thanks

 

Get the vault guide on the bank, read it throughly and memorize or write down a few key points, only better thing is to sit down with someone there and pick their brain for a while

 
Best Response

This, like almost all ib interview questions, is a check-the-box question. These questions are great because it allows interviewers to easily weed out non-serious candidates.

Before going into an interview, spend 30 minutes doing some research on the bank. Google them, look at their recent public filings (if they're publicly-traded), search for them on PRNewswire, etc. All you want to do is prove that you gave a crap. To really hit this question out of the park, though, you need to have networked with bankers at this bank. It's one thing to regurgitate what you read online, but to actually name drop someone you spoke with and mention what they said takes this to a whole new level. It demonstrates not only did you know enough about ib interviews to Google the bank, but you actually cared enough to reach out beforehand yourself. This type of preparedness is an invaluable skill for an analyst to have, and your interviewer will see that.

 

Agree with above, especially the part about name dropping your contact(s) and what they said.

Knowing recently completed deals, primary industries, and any news about the firm is very important. Less important but still good to look up 10 minutes before the interview are firm's stock price (if public) and the CEO. Got those last two thrown at me in a superday, definitely a good thing I looked up while waiting in the lobby to be called in.

 

Firm's stock price, recent deals (or current events), name of their CEO, and how they stack up against competitors

Also make sure you have enough information about the firm so you can answer "Why this firm?" really well (and by well, I mean no general answers that can be said for any firm...think of specifics).

 

"Also make sure you have enough information about the firm so you can answer "Why this firm?" really well (and by well, I mean no general answers that can be said for any firm...think of specifics"

interesting point. but arent bulge brackets all the same? my answer for why Morgan Stanley also works for why Merrill Lynch/why Citigroup. I don't think any BB really has a unique culture. I don't think stereotypes are true on wall street. every firm has nerds, jocks, geniuses, dumbasses, cocky guys, and etc.

with that said, you can say things like: XXXX is the best at [specific fixed income product] so i want to work for you.

 

Simple answer: No, not all firms are the same. A very convincing "Why us?" answer can salvage an otherwise forgettable interview.

 

not necessarily! sometimes people move on because they want to experience a new work environment, could be looking for a more challenging job that contributes to their professional growth and advancement. there are times u get stuck in a rut doing a job in a company that doesnt offer you any personal or professional growth opportunities so it makes sense wanting to move. i am for example wanting to move because i work best under pressure which is not the case with my current employer, it is a slow paced environment with repetitive work and i am looking for more...hope this helps.

 

These are softballs...

  1. Why did you leave your job - look, you never talk shit about your last job, however shitty it was. An interviewer is going to see you as an ungrateful little bitch that unnecessarily airs dirty laundry. This is Wall Street - we bury our dead quietly. Not to mention the fact that most managers dont fuck with you unless you suck. If you have a shitty relationship with your boss, especially as a junior guy, it's way more likely that you're the problem than he/she is, and interviewers know that. I talk about "how great an experience I've had, and how much I respect my boss, and how great of a mentor he's been, but I'm too good for his group for X, Y and Z reason." You turn it into a proof of your loyalty and a backdoor chance to brag about how speical you are/talk about how good a fit the new job is.

  2. Why do you want to work here - Generally as a not fresh out of college/bschool hire, you should know the culture of the new bank and a couple big win transactions that you can speak to. If you're a college/bschool hire, this question is really just a euphamism for "have you gone through the trouble to spend 5 minutes reading the mission statement on our website?" When someone asks this question, you should hear "can you say anything that proves you've put the bare minimum of effort into this process?"

 

I am trying to find good answers to these questions and found this post from a while ago. I'm about 8-10 years into my finance career and have had a few different buy-side roles. There are a few real reasons why I am entertaining other roles now: 1) current company is somewhat understaffed and has an unstructured investing process, leading me to believe this will get us into trouble eventually; 2) no clear promotional path - org is flat and don't think very senior people care about professional development; and 3) of course, potentially more money elsewhere. So my question for WSO is how do I spin #1 and #2 to sound digestable to an interviewer?

 

The accretive EPS thing make you sound like a tool, so does going into specifics about TARP. Just mention that they are very strong in X and X, advised on X deal, and have done very well after the crisis. You can also mention that they have acquired other banks to gain expertise in other areas, but you should just keep it very general and qualitative. When you start talking about EPS and X months before other banks you sound rehearsed and foolish--like repaying TARP 3 months before X bank should have have any baring on why you want to work for the firm.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Where is a good place to find information on how to answer the "why this bank" question? As Gekko21 said, very strong in X and X, advised on X deal...? Company website?

Also, would a good component of the answer be to talk about the culture of the bank?

 
BANK3R:
Where is a good place to find information on how to answer the "why this bank" question? As Gekko21 said, very strong in X and X, advised on X deal...? Company website?

Also, would a good component of the answer be to talk about the culture of the bank?

I know I've answered this before on here... so there are definitely some other threads I would run a search for on Wall Street Oasis. As far as specifics, I've found that the best method is to talk to people that work there -- why not call up an alumni for an informal interview?

"You've got to belong to it."
 

Company websites do have some recent deals in the recent news sections. You can also do a google or bloomberg search.

I generally like mentioning culture (as fit is a big component of their selection) and opportunity to gain great experience (backed up with a legitimate reason why they are differentiated). For the "I like the firm's culture" answer, generally it's given if you've met a few bankers from said bank via some school info session, or if you've done some networking on your own... or if you've got friends who have worked at those banks and you've heard about their experiences.

If you have not met any bankers or friends that worked at said bank, I guess you'll just have to go with looking up what each bank is particularly strong at via forums such as WSO and via general online searches. What I liked to do is during the Q&A part of the interview, turn it around and ask the interviewer what do they like about working at the bank, what do they think is a differentiating factor of the bank... and then reference that as an answer for future second/final rounds.

 

Essentially the bank is just looking for a bit of tactful a**kissing. In other words, you don't want to take 10 minutes to answer this question, but rather, a short paragraph just as you would include in a cover letter.

If you have a contact, great, this will make your job much easier as you can ask the contact some big selling points to touch on, etc. If you do not, do your research - find out what they are good at it, where they are ranked well, about their culture - simple searches on sites like this one, for example, can answer many of these questions. Additionally, look for notable deals they've worked on recently. Finally, the stock building a career, skill set, etc, with a firm of this caliber always acts as a nice closer when dealing with a BB or strong boutique/MM shop.

Here's some more help on answering this and other behavioral questions

 

I've never focused on blabbing on about why XYZ bank is so elite and wonderful, because frankly they don't care. What they want to know is what you offer and why they should hire you over thousands of other applicants.

 

...Everyone wants just THEIR bank, and thinks their bank is somehow special, do they? Goldman is easy (especially right now), but what do you say for Citi? You think they could really use some help, given their current situation? No matter what you say about C or LEH they have to know you'd rather be at, say, Goldman, especially right now...

 

It seems to me that most HR departments just use the cover letter as screening tool, aka, do you have one or not and what does this say about your dedication to getting into banking? In the end what it will come down to is your grades and interviews since I honestly don't believe that they do more than just scan them (considering the amount they recieve). That said, make sure (as cdw said) you tailor it to each bank in at least a small way, you don't want to seem like you're sending out a form letter.

 

i think what really fking blows are those websites that require you to write out essay responses to a bunch of questions before you can even apply online. annoying as fcuk. that said you guys really think it's a bad idea to write a generic one liner as to why their bank? even with good supporting statements for why i'd be a good candidate?

 

are you talking about UBS? hahaha... I remember those essays from when I was applying back in the day. It was so dumb, and UBS is such a sub-par bank anyway, that I just filled out random answers such as, "You know, no other bank made me fill out essay questions."

Didn't get an interview.

 

A good thing to do is to try to contact someone (that will not be interviewing you) you know at the bank before the interview, preferably an analyst, and get him to tell you a few things about the culture that they like. Then, when asked, you can say "well I've talked with so and so, and the things they told me - X, Y, and Z, are exactly the kinds of things I'm looking for in a place to work"

Build off of that...

  • Capt K
- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

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