<p>You're going to get this question anyway - might as well answer it now.</p>
<p>I see so many of you young guys interested in banking, yet many of you don't even really know what it is. You know the basics (the long hours, the good pay, the work on excel, etc) but you don't really know all there is to it. What is it about banking and finance that attracts you?</p>
<p>Oh and btw if you don't type "money" in your reply, you're lying to yourself.</p>
<p>Competition.</p>
<p>Almost all the people I know going into banking are inherently competitive, not necessarily cutthroat, but just to the point where they're willing to push themselves as far as it takes to win (no one I know is really the sabotage type of student that I hear Wharton/Stern has). The competition in people is why lots of them probably don't want to post their premeditated answer for interviews on this thread. </p>
<p>Money money money money doesn't hurt either.</p>
<p>Models and Bottles. Yes, I know, very old.
But yeah, money, exit ops into top PE, HF firms -> more money.</p>
<p>Of course, I would be giving some BS response about how exciting I find M&As and synergies and the crucial role bankers play in nurturing the economy - and the guy on the other side would consider me either an idiot or a phony.</p>
<p>Oh well, I'm more interested in trading and am seeking to go for that.</p>
<p>But honestly, I don't know what to say for I-Banking.
Watson, since you have been through these interviews? - what kind of response did you give?
I don't think too many interviewers would appreciate the truth - money.</p>