Technicals are closed-book and rapid — valuation methods, a DCF walked through end to end, what happens to the model when an assumption moves. The fit round is separately testing whether you can stay coherent while tired.
Also advertised as IB Analyst — the loop is the same, and so is the practice below.
Finance loops are two interviews wearing one name: a technical questioning round where the answers are either right or wrong, and a fit round where the assessment is whether you can hold a conversation under fatigue. Candidates prepare the first and are surprised by the second.
The technical half is closed-book and fast. Interviewers are not looking for derivation from first principles — they want the answer immediately, and then the reason, in that order.
MockLive AI runs a spoken Investment Banking Analyst mock interview — behavioral, consulting case and technical deep-dive rounds — with an AI interviewer who asks questions like “Walk me through a DCF”, follows up on what you actually say and scores you on a fixed rubric; the first 7-minute interview is free. How it compares with other AI interview tools →
Each round is run by the interviewer built for it, with its own scoring axes — not one generic interviewer asked to change subject.
A balanced round across experience and role-specific topics.
Scored on: Structure & communication · Analytical rigor · Business judgment & poise
Past experience, STAR stories, collaboration, and conflict.
Scored on: Structure & communication · Analytical rigor · Business judgment & poise
You drive: framework, data, math, recommendation.
Scored on: Structure & communication · Analytical rigor · Business judgment & poise
Drill into your resume projects and domain fundamentals.
Scored on: Structure & communication · Analytical rigor · Business judgment & poise
Six you can expect, in the register interviewers actually use. Answer them out loud before you read the next section — reading a question and answering one are different skills, and only the second is marked.
The gap between these two is most of your score, and it is easier to see than to be told.
“Walk me through a DCF.”
Starting from theory and building slowly toward the mechanics. The technical round is closed-book and rapid, and hesitation reads as not knowing it.
Answer first and in order — project free cash flows, discount at WACC, terminal value, sum, bridge to equity value — at pace, then stop. If they want depth on WACC or terminal value they will ask, and answering the follow-up crisply is worth more than pre-empting it.
The post-mortem nobody sends you. These are specific to this loop rather than general interview advice.
For Investment Banking Analyst roles, a general round runs with Simone — structured cases — framework, math, and a crisp recommendation. It is the fastest way to find out which round you actually need to work on. The first session is free.
Practise an Investment Banking Analyst interview →Before you practise, it is worth reading how the common rounds are marked: tell me about yourself, behavioural questions and STAR, and system design.
Questions like these: “Walk me through a DCF.” “Which valuation method gives the highest value, and why?” “Walk me through an LBO at a high level.” “How do the three statements connect?” “Why banking, and why this group?” “Talk me through a deal in the news and what you think of it.”
Expect General / Mixed (A balanced round across experience and role-specific topics), Behavioral (Past experience, STAR stories, collaboration, and conflict), Consulting Case (You drive: framework, data, math, recommendation) and Technical Deep-Dive (Drill into your resume projects and domain fundamentals). Technicals are closed-book and rapid — valuation methods, a DCF walked through end to end, what happens to the model when an assumption moves. The fit round is separately testing whether you can stay coherent while tired.
Technicals that are nearly right. In this loop the answers are either correct or they are not, and 'nearly' is a no. A 'why banking' answer that would apply to any firm and any group. Losing coherence late in a long day, which the fit round is separately designed to detect.
Out loud, with someone who follows up. MockLive AI's interviewer for this role asks these questions, pushes back on thin answers and scores you on a fixed rubric, with the transcript and every answer replayable. The first 7-minute interview is free and needs no card.