Investment Banking Interview Questions Part 6

Contents #

High-Level Technical Questions #

1. “How do you evaluate fintech companies and digital payment platforms?” #

Comprehensive Analysis:

Valuation Metrics:

  1. Key Performance Indicators

    Transaction Metrics:

    • Gross Merchandise Value (GMV)
    • Total Payment Volume (TPV)
    • Take rate
    • Transaction frequency

    User Metrics:

    • Monthly Active Users (MAU)
    • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
    • Lifetime Value (LTV)
    • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  2. Financial Analysis

    Revenue Components:

    • Transaction revenue
    • Subscription revenue
    • Interest income
    • Other services

    Cost Structure:

    • Processing costs
    • Network fees
    • Technology infrastructure
    • Compliance costs
  3. Platform Economics

    Network Effects:

    • User growth dynamics
    • Cross-side benefits
    • Platform stickiness
    • Competitive moats

    Scale Benefits:

    • Fixed cost leverage
    • Data advantages
    • Risk management
    • Product development

2. “Walk me through structured finance and securitization analysis.” #

Detailed Framework:

Structure Analysis:

  1. Asset Pool Characteristics

    Key Metrics:

    • Credit quality
    • Seasoning
    • Geographic distribution
    • Asset yield

    Performance Metrics:

    • Default rates
    • Recovery rates
    • Prepayment speeds
    • Delinquency trends
  2. Structural Features

    Credit Enhancement:

    • Overcollateralization
    • Excess spread
    • Reserve accounts
    • Guarantees

    Payment Structure:

    • Waterfall mechanics
    • Trigger events
    • Principal allocation
    • Interest distribution
  3. Risk Analysis

    Credit Risk:

    • Obligor quality
    • Industry concentration
    • Vintage analysis
    • Stress testing

    Structural Risk:

    • Payment priority
    • Servicing quality
    • Legal framework
    • Counterparty exposure

3. “Explain complex hedging strategies in M&A transactions.” #

Comprehensive Response:

Hedging Approaches:

  1. Deal Risk Hedging

    Methods:

    • Collar strategies
    • Forward contracts
    • Option structures
    • Contingent value rights

    Considerations:

    • Deal timing
    • Market volatility
    • Correlation risk
    • Cost effectiveness
  2. Currency Exposure

    Hedging Tools:

    • FX forwards
    • Cross-currency swaps
    • Option strategies
    • Natural hedges

    Implementation:

    • Timing considerations
    • Cost analysis
    • Accounting impact
    • Regulatory constraints
  3. Interest Rate Risk

    Strategies:

    • Interest rate swaps
    • Forward rate agreements
    • Cap/floor structures
    • Swaptions

    Analysis:

    • Duration matching
    • Cost of carry
    • Basis risk
    • Documentation requirements

4. “How do you analyze venture capital and growth equity investments?” #

Detailed Analysis:

Investment Framework:

  1. Market Assessment

    Size Analysis:

    • Total addressable market
    • Serviceable market
    • Target market share
    • Growth potential

    Competitive Analysis:

    • Market structure
    • Entry barriers
    • Network effects
    • First-mover advantages
  2. Company Analysis

    Product Evaluation:

    • Technology differentiation
    • Product-market fit
    • Development roadmap
    • Scalability potential

    Team Assessment:

    • Management experience
    • Technical capabilities
    • Track record
    • Culture fit
  3. Financial Metrics

    Growth Metrics:

    • Revenue growth
    • User acquisition
    • Engagement metrics
    • Monetization potential

    Unit Economics:

    • Gross margins
    • CAC payback
    • LTV/CAC ratio
    • Burn rate

5. “Walk through regulatory capital analysis for financial institutions.” #

Comprehensive Framework:

Capital Requirements:

  1. Basel Framework

    Core Components:

    • Common Equity Tier 1
    • Additional Tier 1
    • Tier 2 Capital
    • Total Capital ratio

    Risk Weightings:

    • Credit risk
    • Market risk
    • Operational risk
    • Counterparty risk
  2. Stress Testing

    Scenarios:

    • Base case
    • Adverse scenario
    • Severe adverse
    • Idiosyncratic events

    Analysis Areas:

    • Credit losses
    • Trading losses
    • Revenue impact
    • Capital impact
  3. Capital Planning

    Management Tools:

    • Capital allocation
    • Risk limits
    • Buffer management
    • Dividend policy

    Strategic Considerations:

    • Growth plans
    • Acquisition strategy
    • Asset mix
    • Business model

6. “Explain different types of real estate investment analysis.” #

Detailed Response:

Analysis Components:

  1. Property Valuation

    Methods:

    • Income approach
    • Sales comparison
    • Cost approach
    • Residual method

    Key Metrics:

    • Cap rate
    • NOI
    • Price per square foot
    • Replacement cost
  2. Investment Analysis

    Return Metrics:

    • Cash-on-cash return
    • IRR
    • Equity multiple
    • AFFO yield

    Risk Assessment:

    • Location quality
    • Tenant quality
    • Market dynamics
    • Capital requirements
  3. Financing Structure

    Debt Analysis:

    • LTV ratio
    • DSCR
    • Debt yield
    • Amortization schedule

    Equity Structure:

    • Promote structure
    • Waterfall provisions
    • Preferred return
    • Catch-up provisions

7. “How do you evaluate infrastructure investments?” #

Comprehensive Analysis:

Evaluation Framework:

  1. Asset Characteristics

    Physical Attributes:

    • Asset condition
    • Useful life
    • Maintenance requirements
    • Expansion potential

    Revenue Structure:

    • Contracted revenue
    • Volume risk
    • Price mechanisms
    • Government support
  2. Financial Analysis

    Key Metrics:

    • Project IRR
    • Equity IRR
    • DSCR
    • Yield metrics

    Cost Structure:

    • Operating costs
    • Lifecycle costs
    • Capital expenditure
    • Regulatory costs
  3. Risk Assessment

    Categories:

    • Construction risk
    • Operation risk
    • Demand risk
    • Political risk

    Mitigation:

    • Contractual protection
    • Insurance
    • Government support
    • Technical solutions

8. “Walk through complex restructuring scenarios involving multiple jurisdictions.” #

Detailed Framework:

Key Considerations:

  1. Legal Framework

    Jurisdictional Analysis:

    • Creditor rights
    • Priority rules
    • Court procedures
    • Recognition issues

    Coordination:

    • Main proceedings
    • Ancillary proceedings
    • Protocols
    • Information sharing
  2. Stakeholder Management

    Creditor Groups:

    • Senior secured
    • Junior secured
    • Unsecured
    • Government claims

    Cross-border Issues:

    • Different priorities
    • Local requirements
    • Cultural factors
    • Language barriers
  3. Implementation Strategy

    Process Management:

    • Timeline coordination
    • Documentation
    • Court approvals
    • Local requirements

    Value Preservation:

    • Operating stability
    • Asset protection
    • Customer relationships
    • Employee retention