13 questions you will always be asked in a corporate banking interview (and how to answer them)

You are about to interview for a relationship manager job in corporate banking. What questions should you expect and how should you answer them?

We have identified 13 key corporate banking job interview questions that you are almost certain to be asked.

1) How much revenue did you generate last year?

You will probably be asked this question before you’ve even taken a seat in the interview room. “At this time of economic uncertainty, banks want to ensure they employ a productive RM who’s able to justify their investment, so they need a clear indication of how much you might bring to them in the future,” says Maggie Li, a manager at recruitment firm Randstad.

2) And what have you done to achieve your targets so far this year?

An obvious follow-up to the question above – banks want to know about your ongoing performance, not just your track record. “Be very specific on your monthly, quarterly and annual targets and show that you’re matching your bank’s goals,” says Ellen Lai, a manager at recruitment agency Michael Page. “But don’t just focus on your own billings – talk about clients who you helped to break in and projects you facilitated to maximise the bank’s revenues. Banks are interested in your sales style.”

3) What makes clients call your first?

This questions aims to draw out how good you are at building relationships. Norman Leung, a managing consultant a recruiters Hudson, provides this potential answer: “I build trust by knowing my client well. Firstly, on personal basis by knowing about their personal interests and their family, and secondly, on a professional basis by providing up-to-date intelligence on market conditions, regulations, and what their competitors are doing. I also add value by asking relevant questions and providing solutions so the client sees I understand their challenges and priorities.”

4) Would you consider yourself a hunter or a farmer?

Unless the job description suggests otherwise, you are advised to describe yourself as a hunter – someone with strong sales skills – rather than a farmer, who merely manages accounts. This is also a good opportunity to talk up your soft skills, say Andrew Clark, a manager at recruiters Robert Walters. He suggests this reply: “I have an independent portfolio of clients that I grew from 10 to 30 in a span of just one year, so I would definitely consider myself a hunter as my strength lies in originating new deals.”

5) How strong are your credit skills?

Some RMs jobs require writing your own credit proposals, while in others you will be fully supported. Either way, make sure you can talk in detail about your credit-assessment ability, says Jasmine Tan, an associate director at recruiters Kerry Consulting. Clark adds this example: “During my early career I worked as a credit analyst for three years supporting RMs to write credit papers. This gave me 360-degree knowledge into credit processing and onboarding.”

6) How have ever you managed an entire mandate?

Interviewers will be impressed if you’ve taken a corporate-banking deal from origination to revenue conversion, so come armed with examples, says Leung. You need to talk through the process step-by-step, explaining how you first listened to the client’s challenges, proposed potential solutions, implemented them and then followed up with the client.

7) How many clients can you bring to us?

Banks obviously like to hire RMs who can transfer some of their portfolio, so emphasise the strength and length of your relationships as evidence that your clients would be happy moving with you. Clark from Robert Walters suggests an answer along these lines: “I’ve worked with mid-tier energy-commodity companies since the start of my career and have an independent book of 20 legacy clients. So yes, I do have a transferable portfolio.”

8) What is the turnover and size of the companies that you cover?

You should answer in detail about the turnover size of your clients, says Clark. For example: “I cover a range of corporates in the mid-markets segment that typically have a turnover of US$100m to US$300m.”

9) And what industries and geographies do you cover?

“Bank always need to ensure that your client segments align with their own business objectives,” says Lai from Michael Page. Make sure you focus on clients and markets that are similar to those covered by the new bank.

10) How did you acquire your portfolio?

This is a more indirect way of asking the hunter/farmer question above. “Interviewers want to clearly understand whether you acquired these clients yourself or whether you inherited them,” says Tan from Kerry Consulting. If too many were given to you, you risk being labelled a farmer.

11) How would you advise your clients about dealing with falling oil prices?

Not all the questions in a corporate banking job interview will be about revenue and relationships – some, like this one, are designed to test your market knowledge and therefore your ability to advise. Your answer should show that you understand your clients’ challenges and how a new regulation or market trend, for example, will impact their business now and in the future, says Leung from Hudson.

12) What kind of products do you sell?

Even if you have brilliant all-around product knowledge, you need to focus your answer on products that the new bank specialises. “RMs from different disciplines have various product areas that require unique skill sets,” says Li from Randstad. “RMs in SME banking are more focused on vanilla products like deposits, trade finance, insurance and investment products, while those with global clients have more experience with structured products and strategic deals.”

13) How do you probe your clients to understand their product needs?

“You should talk about your soft skills – your capability to listen and ask relevant questions,” says Leung. “And give specific examples, without divulging client names or confidential info – show how your dialogue came to a fruitful conclusion and how you closed the deal, enhanced revenues and benefited the client and the bank.”

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