Citi · Investment banking analyst · Summer Analyst / Analyst

First-round technical interview

A valuation-heavy first round

What they actually ask

The question shapes this round uses. Larpy does not read these out. It builds each one from your own resume, because the generic version is the one you have already rehearsed.

“Can a company have negative shareholders' equity? What does it mean?”
“Strengths and weaknesses of each valuation methodology (DCF, Comps, Precedents, etc.)?”
“Explain the concept of WACC as if you were talking to a 6-year-old.”
“What impacts a DCF valuation more: the terminal value or the projected cash flows?”
“Two companies have different EV/EBITDA multiples but identical financials. How can that happen?”

What this round is judged on

Valuation · methodologies, their weaknesses, and why identical companies diverge
DCF · WACC, terminal value and what genuinely moves the output
Accounting · the statements and balance-sheet mechanics behind the multiples
Commercial reasoning · explaining a concept simply and defending an estimate

How Larpy grades this

We score these the way an analyst would. Per topic, what a strong answer lands and the confidently-wrong answers Larpy catches.

VALWalk me through a DCF
Strong
uses UNLEVERED free cash flow discounted at WACC (not levered FCF or cost of equity); includes a terminal value and discounts it back; sums to enterprise value, then bridges to equity.
We flag
discounts unlevered cash flow at the cost of equity; omits terminal value (it is usually the majority of the value); forgets to subtract the change in working capital or capex.
ACCThree-statement flow of a depreciation change
Strong
nets the tax effect correctly (net income down 7.5, not 10); adds the full non-cash charge back on the cash flow statement; closes the balance sheet and states that it balances.
We flag
claims extra depreciation raises net income or cash (it lowers net income; cash rises only by the tax shield); forgets the tax rate and moves the full 10 through pre-tax to net income; leaves the balance sheet unbalanced.

Larpy builds a fresh question per topic from your resume and grades the full answer live. Start the mock for the worked model answer.

Where this round sits

Citi’s published process. Lime marks the stage this round runs.

01
Application (Workday)
02
Skills evaluation (not simulated here)
03
First interview
04
First-round interviews with the banking teamthis round
05
Final stage
06
Offer extended

What happens in each stage›

Application (Workday): Submit through the Citi online portal, which runs on Workday and needs a Citi-specific account even if you already have one elsewhere. Summer Analyst applications typically open in September the year before the May or June start, are aimed at penultimate-year students, and the internship runs 8 to 16 weeks.
Skills evaluation (not simulated here): Citi publishes this step as a skills discovery survey for EMEA and global Services programs, or an assessment confirming coding skills for programs in Tech. There is no coding assessment on the investment banking track, and Americas banking candidates commonly move straight from application to first interview.
First interview: Citi describes a one-on-one interview that goes deeper into your background and how your aspirations line up with the firm. On the banking side this is the screen that decides whether bankers see you at all: motivation, resume walk, and whether you can say something specific about Citi rather than about banking in general.
First-round interviews with the banking team: Reported rather than published: roughly 30-minute conversations with analysts and associates, part fit and part analyst-level technicals. Citi interviewers are known for pushing on valuation more than most, so this seat usually turns into multiples and a DCF quickly.
Final stage: Citi publishes that the final stage is either multiple interviews, an assessment or a case study exercise, depending on the program and the location. For Banking in the Americas that is a superday of back-to-back interviews with senior bankers. EMEA programs are the ones most likely to carry the assessment or case exercise version, so the shape of this stage is worth confirming with your recruiter rather than assuming.
Offer extended: If you are the best fit for the role, a recruiter reaches out with the offer and its details.

Sources

Built from what Citi publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

companyCiti Careers, early careersjobs.citi.com
Citi's published five-step application process (apply, skills evaluation, first interview, final stage, offer extended), the fact that the skills evaluation is a skills discovery survey for EMEA and global Services programs or a coding assessment for programs in Tech, and that the final stage is either multiple interviews, an assessment or a case study exercise depending on the program and the location.
companyCiti Careers, internship programsjobs.citi.com
Summer Analyst structure: penultimate-year eligibility, 8 to 16 weeks, a May or June start, applications typically opening in September the year prior, and Banking (including Investment Banking and Capital Markets) as one of the business areas.
datalevels.fyi, Citilevels.fyi
Analyst compensation and level context. No interview-process content.

Sources last checked August 12, 2026. Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.

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