The corporate finance group is usually under the investment banking division umbrella. Often shortened to CorpFin, investment bankers in this group help companies with their capital investment decisions (longer-term decisions) and also working capital financing (shorter-term decisions). Refer to Merrill Lynch (Capital)’s CorpFin group web page for a real-life example.

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While this is an investment banking-related blog, it would be instructive to explain the concept of a commercial bank, if only to contrast what they do with what investment banks do. At the same time, universal/integrated banks like Citi and JPMorgan can really only be understood after you understand both their commercial and investment banking components.

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Ahhh… the inevitable interview. Right before an interview, there are usually two differing responses. One of confidence from the interviewee who has prepared intensively for the 30 minutes of grilling he/she is about to undergo, the other of sheer nervousness (and perhaps even fea) from the interviewee who thought you could spout bullshit to an investment banker who could be spending his/her valuable time elsewhere.

If you want to be in the shoes of the former interviewee, then make sure you check out the various IB interview resources below. More will be added as they are discovered and evaluated.

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There are several transcripts of discussions on investment banking career paths for graduates, primarily PhDs, just lying around the web unread. So, to give these useful resources a bit more exposure, I’ve pointed to some of them in this post.

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Books about the financial industry tend to be overly technical, and worst of all, dry for neophytes. But once in a while, books that are just right for people just starting out in the industry (or are thinking of doing so) do come along, and this book by Christopher Stoakes is certainly one of them.

All you need to know about the City describes the people and institutions working in one of the world’s most renowned financial districts – London – as well as what and why they do what they do. It is a book suitable for both newcomers to the industry, and industry veterans who simply want to review areas they rarely touch. It’s particularly useful for those going for interviews, meetings or networking events and need to sound informed!

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The term investment banking can usually be interpreted in two ways. First, as any activity an investment bank actually does. This could be sales and trading, principal investment or well… investment banking.

This follows through to the second interpretation of the term, which is: Any activity performed by the investment banking division/department of an investment bank. This would usually be advisory services to companies on how to raise money (corporate finance) or on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

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