The banking case interview is where analyst and associate offers are decided at bulge bracket banks and elite boutiques. Technicals test whether you know the formulas. The case tests whether you can put them together under live pressure — walk through an M&A scenario, build a mental LBO, or value a company end-to-end while the interviewer drills into every assumption. This guide covers how banking cases differ from consulting cases, the three scenarios that come up most, and how to drill them against an interviewer that pushes back the way VPs do.
What a banking case interview looks like
Banking cases range from tight 10-minute scenario walkthroughs tacked onto a technicals round to full 30-minute case studies at superday. Most follow one of three shapes:
- M&A scenario. "Company A, trading at 10x EBITDA, wants to acquire Company B, a private target at 8x EBITDA. Walk me through the accretion/dilution analysis and tell me whether the deal makes sense."
- LBO scenario. "A sponsor is looking at a $500M target with $80M of EBITDA. 6x leverage, 5-year hold. Walk me through the return math and what you would flag as risks."
- Valuation scenario. "I hand you a company. Public comp set, private transaction set, and a 5-year model. Tell me what the range of equity value is and which method you trust most."
You are expected to do the math out loud, make assumptions explicitly, and recover quickly when the interviewer changes a variable. Unlike consulting, the cases lean quantitative and the interviewer tolerates less framework-speak.
What interviewers actually score
- Technical fluency. Can you move between accounting, valuation, and modeling without stopping to think about definitions? Do you know which multiple applies when?
- Business judgment. Beyond the math, do you understand why deals happen? Can you articulate the strategic rationale, not just the return?
- Mental math under pressure. Percentages, IRR approximations, EV/EBITDA arithmetic — all done live while you keep talking.
- Communication. Can you narrate a 15-minute LBO walkthrough without losing the interviewer? Can you summarize at the end in two sentences?
- Coachability. When the interviewer flags an error, do you integrate the feedback and adjust, or dig in?
Polish matters. This is a presentation-heavy job and the interview format rewards candidates who sound like they already work at the firm. Arrogance and uncertainty are both penalized; calm competence is the target.
Three canonical scenarios
Accretion / dilution
Given an acquirer and a target, determine whether the deal is accretive or dilutive to EPS. You need:
- Purchase price and form of consideration (cash, stock, or mix)
- Combined pre-tax income, adjusted for synergies and financing costs
- New share count
- Post-deal EPS vs. standalone EPS
Interviewers will change the mix — "What if it's 100% stock instead?" — and expect you to recompute without resetting. The mental model is: all-cash is usually accretive if the acquirer's after-tax cost of debt is below the target's earnings yield; all-stock is accretive if the target trades at a lower P/E than the acquirer.
LBO returns
Given a target, leverage, and hold period, compute sponsor IRR and MOIC. The walkthrough:
- Entry enterprise value (EBITDA × entry multiple)
- Entry equity check (EV minus debt)
- Exit EBITDA (growth assumption) × exit multiple = exit EV
- Less: remaining debt = exit equity
- IRR from entry equity to exit equity over the hold
The variables interviewers rotate: leverage level, exit multiple (expansion vs. compression), EBITDA growth, mandatory amortization. You should be able to produce IRR estimates to the nearest 5%.
Valuation triangulation
Given a target and a data set, pick a fair equity value range.
- Trading comps — current market-based, includes some noise
- Transaction comps — reflects control premium and deal-specific factors
- DCF — intrinsic, sensitive to assumptions
- Precedent LBO — floor in sponsor-heavy sectors
Strong answers weight the methods by context. A stable cash-generating industrial company leans on comps and LBO floor. A high-growth tech company leans on DCF and forward revenue multiples. A distressed asset leans on transaction comps and asset value.
Preparation roadmap
- Weeks 1–2: Technicals first. You cannot case without fluency on the underlying math. Drill accounting, DCF, comps, and accretion/dilution until the formulas come automatically.
- Weeks 3–4: Case patterns. Work through a dozen M&A scenarios, a dozen LBO scenarios, and half a dozen valuation triangulations. Pattern recognition is the goal — within 30 seconds of hearing the prompt you should know which formula track you are on.
- Week 5: Case walkthroughs under time pressure. Set a 15-minute timer per scenario. No notes. Narrate the math out loud. Record yourself and listen back.
- Week 6: Full mocks. Four to six mock cases with voice and follow-ups, plus standard technicals, plus behavioral. Simulate the superday rhythm.
Do not skip the behavioral — half the banking case is whether the interviewer wants to work with you for 100 hours a week.
How to practice with InterviewDen
While the dedicated banking case track is still being built on InterviewDen, banking technicals rapid-fire practice drills the underlying accounting, valuation, and M&A mechanics you need for any case. The technicals cover the canonical question bank with spaced repetition and voice feedback — it is the bedrock of any banking case prep, and interviewers usually test technicals before or during the case.
Common mistakes
- Mechanical walkthroughs without judgment. You correctly recite the LBO math but never say whether the deal is attractive or why. The business answer matters more than the number.
- Refusing to make assumptions. Every banking case requires assumptions. State them, move on, and revisit them if the interviewer pushes back.
- Confusing EV and equity value. The most common technical error in banking cases is mixing enterprise value and equity value. Slow down and be explicit.
- Not sanity-checking numbers. A 45% IRR should make you pause, not celebrate. Strong candidates flag when their own output looks unreasonable.
- Ignoring financing. An M&A scenario without talking about how it is financed is incomplete. Cash requires confirmation of the cash. Stock dilutes. Debt affects rating. Mix affects both.
- Memorizing answers without understanding. The interviewer will flip a variable and your rehearsed answer falls apart. Always reason from first principles.
FAQ
How is a banking case different from a consulting case?
Banking cases are more quantitative, less framework-heavy, and more focused on specific financial mechanics. Consulting cases reward structure and synthesis. Banking cases reward speed, accuracy, and fluency on the underlying math.
Do I need to build a full LBO model in the interview?
No. You need to walk through the LBO logic with mental math and rough numbers. Full modeling tests happen only in paper LBO rounds, which are a separate format.
Are case interviews standard at every bank?
Every bulge bracket and elite boutique uses some version of technicals-plus-case at the superday level. Middle-market firms vary. Expect them at Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JPM, Evercore, Moelis, Lazard, Centerview, PJT, and similar.
How much do soft skills matter?
A lot. You are being evaluated on whether the interviewer wants to be trapped in a deal room with you for two years. Competence plus likeability wins.
What if I do not know a specific term the interviewer uses?
Ask for clarification. Banking has specific vocabulary and pretending to know something you do not almost always gets exposed two questions later. Saying "I have not come across that term — can you define it?" is fine once. Twice is a problem.
How long should I prepare if I'm not from a target school?
Six to ten weeks of dedicated prep, including daily technicals flashcards and two or three mock interviews per week in the final weeks. Non-target candidates benefit most from mock interview volume, not more reading.