Staple Financing

This question tests your understanding of how financing can be packaged and attached to a sale process, and how that changes the role of the sell-side advisor. In interviews, candidates are expected to know that some investment banks can arrange debt for a buyer because they have lending capabilities and access to a balance sheet, while also recognizing why that can create conflicts of interest when the same bank advises the seller. It also checks whether you understand the distinction between full-service bulge bracket banks and advisory-focused boutiques, since that difference often drives who can offer financing, how they compete for mandates, and how buyers and sellers evaluate a transaction process.