Bank deck
Barclays interview questions
Barclays-specific prep: the Lehman integration story, transatlantic platform, and interview process expectations.
Start free45 questions · included with every Pro plan
Prepping the fit side too? How to answer "Why Barclays?" →
Wondering about pay? The IB salary calculator has analyst and associate ranges from named public sources.
Every question in the deck
- When was Barclays founded, and what were its origins?
- What is the Barclays eagle, and why is it a useful detail to know?
- Walk me through the 2008 Lehman Brothers acquisition — what exactly did Barclays buy, and why does it define the firm's US investment bank?
- Why did Barclays NOT buy Lehman Brothers whole before it filed for bankruptcy — and why did it buy the US business days later?
- How did Barclays get through the 2008 crisis without a UK government bailout, and how should you talk about it?
- What were BZW and Barclays Capital, and why does that history explain the firm's debt DNA?
- Fun-fact question: what world-first in retail banking is Barclays widely credited with?
- If an interviewer asks about a challenge in Barclays's past — how do you handle the LIBOR episode?
- What does 'transatlantic' mean in Barclays's self-description, and where are its headquarters?
- Sketch the historical arc of Barclays in five to seven beats — the version that shows genuine depth in a 'what do you know about us' answer.
- What are Barclays's stated values, and how should you use them in an interview?
- Give the model answer structure for 'Why Barclays specifically?'
- How do you answer 'Why Barclays over a US bulge bracket?' without trashing anyone?
- What does the Lehman legacy mean culturally inside Barclays's US investment bank, and how do you use that in a fit answer?
- 'What do you know about our culture?' — give the model answer structure for Barclays.
- How do you make 'Barclays is a universal bank' work FOR you in a fit answer rather than sounding like a textbook line?
- Where is Barclays headquartered, and what should you know about interview logistics?
- What questions should you ASK a Barclays interviewer at the end?
- What are the networking expectations for a Barclays candidate, and how does the firm's early-engagement pipeline work?
- How do you answer 'Why the investment bank within Barclays rather than a pure-play advisory boutique?'
- How is the Barclays group structured, and what is ring-fencing?
- What does the Barclays investment bank actually do? Describe the main business lines a candidate should understand.
- How do coverage groups and product groups work at a bank like Barclays, and why does the distinction matter for your recruiting?
- Where is Barclays commonly considered strongest competitively, and how do you reference that without quoting stale league tables?
- Why does a big balance sheet help a bank like Barclays win investment banking mandates?
- What's the difference between DCM and Leveraged Finance as desks, and what does a junior in each actually do?
- What is committed acquisition financing — a bridge loan — and why do banks like Barclays provide it?
- What is the structural tension of running an investment bank inside a UK universal bank, and how do you discuss it if asked about Barclays's challenges?
- What is the typical end-to-end process shape for a Barclays investment banking summer analyst candidate?
- How does a UK assessment centre differ from a US superday, and how should you prepare for Barclays's final round in each region?
- When should you start preparing for Barclays summer analyst recruiting?
- What should you expect from a Barclays superday, and how should the firm's franchise shape your technical prep?
- What are the three firm facts every Barclays candidate should be able to state cold?
- Why is debt cheaper than equity as a source of capital?
- How do you calculate the after-tax cost of debt, and why do you multiply by (1 minus the tax rate)?
- Compare a leveraged loan (Term Loan B) with a high-yield bond across the dimensions an interviewer expects.
- Rank a typical leveraged capital structure from safest to riskiest.
- A company raises $100 of debt at the start of the year. Walk through the three statements at issuance, and then the ongoing impact if it pays 10% interest (40% tax rate).
- What credit metrics does a leveraged finance banker look at, and what does each one tell you?
- 'How much debt can this company raise?' — give the framework a leveraged finance interviewer wants.
- What is call protection on a high-yield bond, why does it exist, and why don't leveraged loans have it?
- Maintenance vs incurrence covenants — what's the difference, and what does 'cov-lite' mean?
- What happens to a company's WACC as it adds more and more debt?
- An acquirer funds a deal entirely with debt costing 8% pre-tax (25% tax rate). The target is purchased at 12.5x P/E including the premium. Accretive or dilutive — and what's the general financing-cost rule?
- What makes a company a good leveraged buyout candidate or a strong leveraged credit? Give the checklist a debt-focused interviewer expects.
Every answer is human-reviewed — written & reviewed by people who've worked at bulge-bracket banks, leading hedge funds, and top tech finance teams; firm facts verified against primary sources.
Also interviewing at…
Interviewing at more than one bank?
Pro covers all 30 decks (2,300+ questions) — including every bank deck — including this one — forever.
Email me the Barclays question list.
Every published question from the Barclays deck, each linking to its page — one email, free, no mailing list.
Free tier: 20 cards + 10 daily reps + ALL drills — no credit card required.
Try the real thing
1 / 3Valuation: Comps & Precedents
What are the main valuation methodologies?
10 real questions a day, picked for you.
Free tier: 20 cards + 10 daily reps + ALL drills — no credit card required.