400 Technicals to Memorize for Banking Interviews

March 16, 2025

The Non-Target Playbook 

By Jack Kolb

If I only had two weeks to study for banking, here are the 400 questions I'd memorize first.

But if you were smart and started early, memorizing questions is a recipe for disaster.

Bankers are well aware of the few guides every kid uses to study.

They’ll purposefully ask new variations of questions to see if you truly grasp the underlying concepts.

The 700 pages of guides will still be your bestfriend, but you’ll need a few more resources to prep.

Here was the exact combo of resources I used to learn those underlying concepts.

This strategy helped me land my internship at an elite boutique in NYC notorious for tough technicals.

STUDY METHOD OVERVIEW

At first I was overwhelmed since there are so many resources and different ways to practice.

Luckily, I had an upperclassmen mentor who miraculously placed at BofA NYC from our non-target.

He showed me the exact resources he used and his approach to tackling one piece at a time.

This approach can be broken down into four steps.

  • STEP 1 - READ & WATCH VIDEOS

  • STEP 2 - INTERNALIZE PRACTICE QUESTIONS

  • STEP 3 - PRACTICE OUT LOUD

  • STEP 4 - USE CONCEPTS IN ACTION

STEP 1 - READ & WATCH VIDEOS

1) BREAKING INTO WALL STREET GUIDES

99% of kids study with BIWS’s guides.

Never pay for them though - get an upperclassmen to send you the PDFs.

Updated versions have a bunch of fancy supplements, but you only need the core six “modules”.

  • 1. CORE FINANCE CONCEPTS

  • 2. ACCOUNTING & 3 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

  • 3. EQUITY VALUE & ENTERPRISE VALUE

  • 4. VALUATION & DCF

  • 5. LEVERAGED BUYOUTS

  • 6. MERGER MODELS

Spend most of your time on one through four.

Most banks will never ask about LBO’s and Merger Models (five and six).

If they do, it’ll be at the end. This means you have to pass the basics first to even get there.

The table of contents for each guide looks like this.

The first 75% of every guide is pretty much textbook reading with tons of charts and visuals.

For each of the first four guides, I started with a skim then went back to take more detailed notes.

2) MERGERS & INQUISITIONS YOUTUBE

I’m a visual learner, so I watched videos for each guide after my initial read-through / skim.

The guy Brian who makes these is a legend. He breaks everything down in such simple terms.

I’d recommend watching these for each section after your first read of the corresponding BIWS guide.

→ ACCOUNTING & FINANCE

→ EQUITY VALUE & ENTERPRISE VALUE

→ DCF / VALUATION

→ LBO

→ MERGER MODELS

3) ROSENBAUM & PEARL (BOOK)

This is mandatory reading for any future banker, but I didn’t read it until right before my internship.

It’s more comprehensive than what you need for interviews, so only read it if you have extra time.

STEP 2 - INTERNALIZE PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1) BACK OF BIWS GUIDES

After digesting the front of each guide, I started quizzing myself on the practice questions in the back.

I’d scroll up on my laptop to cover the answer and go one by one saying answers under my breath.

By the end, I’d rehearsed every single question in the back of the first four at least a dozen times.

Those are all a “check the box” and there’s no excuse to not know them by heart.

You need to be able to recall each aspect of BIWS’s explanation - especially anything they have in bold.

2) BIWS 400 QUESTION GUIDE

I did this one after getting through all the primary guides.

It has behaviorals too, so definitely a nice supplement for any last minute practice.

Here’s the link to download – https://investmentbankingclub.org/downloads

3) STREET OF WALLS PAPER LBO

Most banks won’t ask these, but you never know so it’s a good idea to practice a few.

STEP 3 - PRACTICE OUT LOUD

Bankers are testing whether you can articulate these complex topics in a clear and concise way.

Most kids want to prove they studied and know their stuff, but end up overexplaining as a result.

RULE #1 - NEVER give extra / un-necessary detail. Wait for them to ask follow ups.

  • Example - If they ask you the formula for WACC - DO NOT ramble about all the different ways to calculate cost of debt, what the formula is for cost of equity, etc. Tell them the basic formula ( [ % Debt x After-Tax Cost Debt ] + [ % Equity x Cost Equity ] ) and wait for them to press where they want to.

Otherwise they’ll think you’re a show-off and grill you with harder questions to put you in your place.

There were two methods I used to practice this articulation.

1) SELF RECORDING

My school’s academy had us submit self recordings to the exec board for the 30 most asked questions.

Here are a few questions in particular you’ll want to have the explanation for down pat.

  • Walk me through a DCF.

  • How do the 3 financial statements link together?

  • How do you calculate unlevered free cash flow?

2) MOCK INTERVIEWS

Setting up mocks with intimidating upperclassmen will simulate the pressure of a real interview.

Also - when I mocked kids, I’d ask them the real questions I got during my superdays.

I wrote them down right after leaving those interview rooms and know most of my peers did the same.

So - if you have an interview at bank and know an upperclassmen who’s interviewed there…

You should be mocking with that person as much as you possibly can.

They'll give you the low down on the format that bank likes to use and help you prep accordingly.

STEP 4 - USE CONCEPTS IN ACTION

Applying these concepts you’re reading about will help them stick in your brain.

Here were the two ways I reinforced the concepts I was learning.

1) FINANCIAL MODELING CERTIFICATION

I got my Level II Financial Modeling Certification from Adventis.

They give lots of real-world examples to practice in Excel and there’s a 2hr live exam you have to pass.

Everything in this is also graded by real people (not computers) that leave comments on your work.

2) CASE COMPETITION

Most schools have these as part of their banking clubs, but you should join the NIBC one if that's not an option.

Now stop procrastinating and get back to studying…

Cheers 🥂

- Jack