I have an interview in a month for a Private Banking internship at a BB in East Europe. It might be my only chance to get an internship as my other applications were unsucessfull. I need to be prepared so I am looking for your help.
What type of questions should I expect ? How technical and specific can it get ? What kind of excel skills they will be expecting? Is the procedure any different when it’s not located in a big financial hub? I am currently fully commited in my own investment activities so I am aware of what is going on in the markets, but I’d like to know how I could make a true difference in the interview process.
All pieces of advice or insights are more than welcome!
You need to be more specific in what you are asking here. Are you interning for the asset management side of private banking (technical focus) or the wealth managment side (AUM focus)?
The procedure is very different when interviewing for one of the top 10 banks in terms of AUM in comparison to a boutique or a midisize bank.
I am interning for the wealth management side (controlling, reporting and project management activities). It would consist of a first round interview 2X 30 minutes (I guess more competency based), then a second and final round (soft skills).
Should I mention I consider applying for a master degree after the internship or would it be detrimental to my case as they would be looking for people able to stay with the company after the internship ?
I take it that it is more of a back office job than a front-line one which makes sense for an intern. Here are some of the questions you might get asked and how to tackle them:
1-What do you know about us?
Research the bank and understand their structure (asset management, private banking, wealth management, prime brokerage, research and development, etc.)
2- You mentioned private banking and wealth management, what is the difference between them?
Every bank is different. For instance, UBS runs a separate arm for wealth management, while Credit Suisse runs both wealth management and private banking under one arm. Understand how they operate (their website will be a good a source)
After the second question the interviewer will probably go on and on babbling about what he does and what the bank does and what kind of “great” offerings they have for their clients. Just in case, be prepared for a question like this:
3-Why should we hire you?
Understand the products they offer and what they are strong and weak in (asked your banker friends, research the internet, Google for recent articles or news about the bank). Try to find out their weak areas and highlight them in the interview with a proposal on how you think these weaknesses can be tackled (i.e. should the bank focus on its strong areas and grow them further, and how? or focus on its weak areas and develop them up to par levels, also how?).
These question get asked in interviews with wealth managers and private bankers, however I expect that you will be asked similar questions too in attempt to judge your overall knowledge and attitude. The interview questions SHOULD be less technical and more focused toward extracting what type of a person you are and whether your attitude will fit the culture.
I am really grateful for all the writing you have done. I will prepare the points you mentionned. I will also think of an answer for the “weakness/strenght”, general view of the markets, “how would you invest $100bn” or " pitch me a stock" question.