Investment Banking
25 restructuring questions of the kind asked in investment banking interviews. Each carries a model answer, the concepts a complete response must hit, and graded feedback on your own attempt.
A first-round question on recognising when a company needs restructuring advice.
What are the early warning signs that a company may need restructuring advice?
A core concept tested across restructuring and distressed-investing interviews.
What is the fulcrum security in a restructuring?
A core product question for an analyst supporting the first days of a Chapter 11 process.
What is debtor-in-possession financing, and why might a lender provide it to a company already in bankruptcy?
A foundational distressed-investing concept used in recovery and control discussions.
What is the fulcrum security in a restructuring, and why do distressed investors care about it?
The basic first workstream on any new restructuring mandate.
What belongs in a distressed company's capital-structure summary, and why is it important?
A common terminology question in early-stage distressed situations.
What is a forbearance agreement, and why would a lender agree to one?
A first-round distressed-credit question testing whether a candidate understands why secured creditors can permit a Chapter 11 process without surrendering economic value.
What is adequate protection in Chapter 11, and why does a debtor need to provide it to a secured lender?
A first-round restructuring question testing the practical purpose of a Chapter 11 filing.
What is the automatic stay in Chapter 11, and why can it preserve value for a distressed company?
Tests capital-structure mechanics in a consensual restructuring case.
Why would creditors agree to exchange debt for equity, and what determines the ownership split?
The first analysis a restructuring banker runs on a new situation.
A company calls you in distress. What is the first analysis you run, and what determines whether they have a liquidity problem or a solvency problem?
A Chapter 11 governance question for restructuring candidates.
What is an official creditors' committee in Chapter 11, and what does it do?
Modern restructuring interviews expect candidates to understand out-of-court liability management.
What is a liability management exercise, and why is it contentious?
A core Chapter 11 transaction concept for restructuring analysts.
What is a Section 363 sale, and why might it be preferable to a plan of reorganisation?
A distressed-credit case that tests whether a lender can choose a remedy based on value preservation rather than frustration.
A borrower will breach its leverage covenant next quarter. It has adequate liquidity for six months, a viable core business, and a sponsor proposing a 12-month maturity extension in exchange for a modest fee but no new…
A senior restructuring case testing whether a proposed Chapter 11 plan can bind a rejecting creditor class.
A company proposes a Chapter 11 plan with $300m of reorganised enterprise value. It has $120m of first-lien debt, $150m of second-lien debt and $110m of unsecured notes. The first lien is paid in full, the second lien…
The core quantitative exercise in distressed credit.
A company has $400m first lien, $250m second lien and $300m unsecured notes. Normalised EBITDA is $120m and comparable businesses trade at 5.5x. Calculate recoveries and identify the fulcrum security.
A restructuring analyst case involving liquidity triage, DIP financing, and creditor negotiation under a Chapter 11 timetable.
You advise the first-lien lender group of a specialty retailer that will file Chapter 11 in ten days. The company needs DIP financing, but its sponsor wants to provide it on terms that may dilute recoveries. Make the…
A synthesis case in restructuring interviews.
How would you decide whether to pursue an out-of-court restructuring or file Chapter 11?
Special situations and distressed funds compete to provide it.
Why is debtor-in-possession financing attractive to a lender, and why would an existing creditor provide it even at a loss-making rate?
A senior real estate credit case on exercising lender remedies.
A borrower cannot refinance at maturity. How would you decide whether to modify the loan, extend it or enforce?
Tests process judgement in a restructuring where speed and stakeholder consent change value.
Compare a prepackaged Chapter 11 with a free-fall filing. When would you favour each, and what does the choice mean for creditors?
A judgement case for operational roles in stressed portfolio companies.
A portfolio company is missing plan, burning cash and losing customers. What is your first-month turnaround plan?
A restructuring analyst prioritization lab testing liquidity control, stakeholder sequencing, and executable contingency planning.
You advise a retailer whose revolver agent has sent a reservation-of-rights notice. Payroll is due in five days and suppliers are shortening terms. Rank the actions as the stakeholder situation develops, then draft the…
A restructuring analyst live case balancing liquidity, stakeholder leverage and recoveries.
You advise a sponsor-owned distributor with one week before payroll and a blocked revolver draw. Decide what to do as facts arrive, then send the senior team a restructuring recommendation.
Core technical for restructuring groups and distressed funds.
Walk me through a Chapter 11 process, and explain what a debtor actually gains by filing.
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Firm names indicate where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with the firms named.