Most IB interview prep content is written for the US market. The recruiting process, bank landscape, and career dynamics in London are materially different. This is the guide we wish existed when we were applying.
The London IB Landscape
London is the largest investment banking market outside of New York. The major players break down into several tiers:
US Bulge Brackets (London offices): Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi. These run full-service operations in London covering M&A, ECM, DCM, and leveraged finance. They dominate the European league tables and are the most competitive to join.
European Banks: Barclays (the only UK-headquartered bulge bracket still in IB), Deutsche Bank, UBS, BNP Paribas, Société Générale. These vary significantly in strength – Barclays is highly competitive; some European banks have scaled back London operations.
Elite Boutiques: Rothschild (the largest advisory-only firm in Europe), Lazard, Evercore, PJT Partners, Centerview, Perella Weinberg. These focus purely on advisory (no capital markets) and are extremely selective. Rothschild is particularly strong in London given its European heritage.
Middle-Market and Specialist: Houlihan Lokey, Jefferies, Greenhill, Lincoln International, DC Advisory, Oakley Capital. Often the best places to get direct deal experience quickly, with less competition for seats.
'Why do you want to work in London specifically?' Good answers reference London's role as the European deal hub, cross-border transaction exposure, and the breadth of the market (London bankers regularly work on deals across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). Don't just say 'I live here.'
The UK Recruiting Timeline
UK recruiting is structured around two main entry points:
Spring Weeks (penultimate year students): 1-week programmes in March–April, typically in your penultimate year of university. These are the primary feeder into summer internships. Applications open September–November of the preceding year. Most bulge brackets and elite boutiques run spring week programmes.
Summer Internships (penultimate year students): 8–10 week programmes in June–August. The vast majority of graduate offers come through summer internships – direct applications to graduate schemes without an internship are significantly harder.
Graduate Schemes (final year or postgraduate): Some banks hire a small number of graduates directly, but this is the exception. The standard path is: Spring Week → Summer Internship → Graduate Offer.
For postgraduate students (Master's, MBA), recruiting timelines overlap. Many banks recruit Master's students alongside undergraduates for the same summer internship slots.
The Application Process
UK banks use a multi-stage process:
Online Application: CV, cover letter, and sometimes online questions. Tailor every application – generic cover letters are obvious.
Online Tests: Numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and sometimes situational judgement tests. SHL and Talent Q are the most common providers. These are pass/fail – below the threshold, your application stops regardless of everything else.
Video Interview: Pre-recorded (HireVue) or live. You'll face a mix of motivational questions ('why banking?', 'why this bank?') and basic technical questions ('walk me through a DCF', 'what's enterprise value?').
Assessment Centre: The final stage. Typically a full day including a group exercise, individual case study or presentation, and 1–2 panel interviews. This is where most candidates are eliminated. Assessment centres test commercial awareness, teamwork, communication, and technical knowledge simultaneously.
Assessment centres are unique to the UK/European process – US banks rarely use them. Practise group exercises specifically: you need to contribute without dominating, build on others' ideas, and demonstrate structured thinking under time pressure. The assessors are watching behaviour, not just answers.
London-Specific Salary Data
First-year Analyst base salaries at London bulge brackets typically sit at £60,000–£70,000, with a year-end bonus of £25,000–£50,000 depending on bank performance. Total first-year comp: £85,000–£120,000.
Elite boutiques generally pay at the top end or above. Rothschild and Lazard are competitive with US banks on base but bonuses can vary. Evercore and Centerview's London offices often match or exceed US bank comp.
UK compensation is lower in absolute terms than New York, but the gap narrows after tax and cost of living – particularly once you account for pension contributions, private healthcare, and other benefits that UK banks include.
Target and Non-Target Universities
The UK has a clear (if unofficial) tiering system:
Core Targets: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, UCL, Warwick. Banks recruit heavily from these universities and attend their career fairs.
Strong Semi-Targets: Edinburgh, Durham, Bristol, King's College London, Bath, St Andrews, Manchester, Nottingham. Well represented in banking, but you'll need to network more proactively.
Non-Targets: Everyone else. Breaking in is absolutely possible (many successful bankers come from non-target universities) but requires significantly more effort in networking, spring week applications, and demonstrating commitment through extracurriculars.
The single most important thing for non-target students: apply to every spring week programme available. Spring weeks are the great equaliser – once you're in the building, your university matters far less than your performance during the week.
How to Stand Out
Technical preparation: UK interviews are less technically intensive than US interviews on average, but the top firms (Goldman, JPM, Evercore, Rothschild) still test technical concepts rigorously. Know your DCF, LBO, M&A, and accounting fundamentals cold.
Commercial awareness: UK interviews place heavy emphasis on market knowledge. Read the FT daily. Know the major deals announced in the past 3 months. Have a view on interest rates, recent IPOs, and major M&A transactions.
Networking: The UK market is small enough that networking matters enormously. Attend every bank presentation at your university. Connect with alumni on LinkedIn. Attend events run by organisations like SEO London, Bright Network, and university finance societies.
Preparing for UK investment banking applications?
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