SMBC Interview Prep

History of bank

over 140 years, Japanese heritage. Growing EMEA presence

Corporate values

#1 Integrity #2 Customer First #3 Proactive and Innovative #4 Speed and quality #5 Team SMBC Group

What is debt syndication

When a client takes out a loan from SMBC and SMBC decides to split the risk by using only a percentage of their own assets, while engaging other banks on the rest.

Why do you want to work at SMBC?

There’s three main reasons.

Firstly, it’s the alignment of values. Before uni, I worked at Japan’s largest sushi restaurant chain, where I really appreciated the emphasis on respect, humility and integrity. I recognised many of those same qualities during my placement at SMBC and highly resonated with them, and I think that reflects the bank's 400-yr Japanese heritage.

Secondly, the people. Throughout my placement, I found colleagues genuinely approachable and willing to invest time in my development. That supportive environment was one of the reasons I felt comfortable proactively seeking exposure to Aviation Origination, beyond my original responsibilities in Credit Solutions.

Finally, SMBC's strength in Structured Finance. I know SMBC recently was named Project Finance House of 2026 - and it is really a leader in this space.

For me, the key to a fulfilling career is alignment to company’s culture and people, whilst being ambitious.

Current ratio

Current assets / Current liabilities (Higher = better)

ROE

Net income / shareholder equity (Measures profitability, higher = better)

D/E ratio

liabilities / shareholder equity (lower = better)

Recent news story?

UK Autumn Budget

• Announcement of new cost-control framework for renewable energy projects.

• The government will prioritise projects that can connect to the grid and help lower electricity bills. I found that interesting because it could change which renewable technologies attract investment.

• More cost-effective projects with secure grid connections could benefit from the policy support, making it more attractive to lenders.

• From a Structured Finance perspective, I think this creates both opportunities and risks. On the one hand, projects that meet the criteria could benefit from government support and become more attractive financing opportunities for banks like SMBC. On the other hand, developers of more expensive projects might struggle to secure sufficient support, which could affect their expected returns and the bankability of those projects.

SMBC and Ardian

• Expansion into mid-market NAV financing - incl infrastructure funds

• For me, this is interesting as it requires analysis of a portfolio of assets, rather than just one project like in PF.

• Significant because extends SMBC existing large-cap capabilities and now targets mid-cap portfolios too

What do you hope to get out of this grad program? / Why SFS / What are your goals?

3 things

1: I want to develop from someone who's primarily assessed credit risk into someone who can actively contribute to structuring and executing transactions. In TPD, I developed a strong foundation in financial analysis and credit applications, but I'd now like to build on that by understanding how deals are sized, priced, negotiated and brought to financial close.

2: The rotational element. My experience so far has mainly been in aviation and maritime, so having exposure to different asset classes and financing products would help me develop a broader understanding of Structured Finance before deciding where to specialise.

3: I'd like to become someone the team can increasingly rely on to take ownership of transaction workstreams.

By the end of the programme, I'd like to be in a position where I can contribute meaningfully to a transaction from its early structuring stages through to execution, rather than just analysing one part of it.

Tell me about yourself

My name is Eamon, excited to be in consideration for this structured finance grad programme at SMBC. I love the idea of becoming a professional in the SFS vertical because I want to be at the heart of real, tangible transactions.

A bit about my background, I've always enjoyed connecting theory with real-world problems, which is what drew me to UCL Economics. That interest led me to my placement year at SMBC - I joined the Credit Solutions Group within Transportation, and was involved in assessing clients’ financial performance and credit risk on existing transactions.

As I became more familiar with the department, I took the initiative to gain exposure to the Aviation Origination team, where I prepared credit applications and built projections.

That experience really shaped my career interests. I realised that while I enjoyed credit analysis, I was particularly interested in being involved earlier in the transaction process. Alongside my placement, I also passed CFA Level I, which helped strengthen my technical foundation and reinforced my interest in banking.

That's ultimately what brings me here today. I'd love to build on my experience at SMBC through Kaika, particularly by gaining exposure to different financing products and asset classes within Structured Finance.

Walk me through a DCF

DCF is a way of valuing a company by estimating future cashflows and discounting them to the present day.

1. Calculating WACC (calculated once)

= (Return on Equity)(Equity Weight) + (Return on Debt)(1-T)(Debt Weight)

• Interest payments are tax deductible, hence the 1-T

2. Projecting Free Cash Flows

1. Calculate Unlevered FCF = EBI,AT + D&A - CAPEX - Net change in WC

2. Now repeat 5 times, once for each year (use projections)

3. Adjust with WACC… the Discounted FCF = Unlevered FCF*(1-WACC)

3. Calculate Terminal Value

= (5th year’s FCF)(1+G) / (WACC - G)

Then, discount TV by TV/(1+WACC)^5

4. Calculate Enterprise Value

EV = Sum of all discounted FCFs + PV of TV in last projected year

MBS

A mortgage-backed security is a security that pays its holder a periodic payment based on cash flows from the underlying mortgages that fund the security.

Investor buys MBS from a bank, and receives cash flow from homeowners’ mortgage payments.

CDO

Collateralised debt obligation - When interest bearing assets are securitised (bundled) and sold as a bond. The assets may be loans, mortgages, etc.

What are the three financial statements?

They are the income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet.

The income statement shows revenue, cost of goods, and relevant expenses for the period, including depreciation.

The cash flow statement takes the net income figure from the income statement, and adds back non-cash expenses like D&A, subtracts CapEx which aren’t reflected in income statement, adjusts for working capital (add increases in payables, subtract increases in receiveables/inventory), and adds new debt/subtracts repayments.

The balance sheet shows a snapshot of the company’s total assets, total liabilities, and total shareholder equity.

How are the three financial statements connected

1. Net income from IS → operating activities in CF

2. Net income less dividends → added to retained earnings of previous year’s BS to get current year BS

3. The beginning cash on CF is previous year’s end cash

If you could use only one financial statement to evaluate the financial state of a company, which would you choose?

CF, as it shows actual liquidity, how much the company is generating and using

Shows their investment strategy (time horizon) and also

FX Swap

When two companies in different countries swap their loan agreements (two different currencies)

Usually fixed-to-float

When a company wants to secure a loan for a lower interest rate

A company might want to secure a loan in the other country currency, mitigating exchange rate risk.

DSCR - what are the three interpretations of DSCR?

DSCR in real estate finance: NOI/(Repayments+interest)

DSCR in project finance: CFADS/(Repayments+interest)

DSCR in corporate finance: EBITDA/(Repayments+interest)

What are CFADS?

Cash flow available for debt servicing. = EBITDA - cash taxes +- change in WC - maintenance Capex

What should we be cautious of when a DSCR is close to 1x?

1. Consider whether CFADS may rise or interest expenses may fall in future periods

2. Take into account

What does ‘pro forma’ mean?

Pro forma means adjusted to reflect a proposed transaction or event. Assuming it already has taken place.

What are some of your strengths?

• Analytical thinking and attention to detail → 

  • Reviewed clients’ financial performance, leverage, liquidity while preparing TMSes

  • Important during Hormuz, analysing disruptions. 

  • Understanding how ratios translate to lending decisions.

• Taking initiative → 

  • Learn not just my responsibilities, but of wider TPD.

  • Grading models

  • Led to FO secondment

• Communication → 

  • Internal and external stakeholder communication on PT Berlian case

  • Clear communication was necessary

• All skills complementary to any team in SFS

What is your biggest weakness?

• Overprepare / perfectionism

  • I like to gather all the information and data before I make a decision

  • Need to learn how to strike a balance between preparation and making a timely decision on something

Proudest achievement?

S: Chaired the 30-Hour Famine committee

• Led team of 12 volunteers across fundraising, budgeting, logistics, marketing

T: Initial engagement was low, needed to increase participation and fundraising

A: Initiated new digital and physical marketing strategy. 

• Launching instagram account, website, and promo videos

• Engaged school community through bake sales

R: Doubled fundraising vs last yr, reaching approx 9,000 gbp. Record number of participants

Proud because: turning a poorly engaged event into a successful one through collective effort

L: Learned that leadership isn't about personally doing everything, but identifying a better approach, winning others' support and coordinating execution. → SMBC

What did you learn from your placement?

Commercial awareness, particularly how geopolitical events translate into credit risk

Working across aviation and maritime, I saw firsthand how geopolitical tensions (Hormuz) affected oil prices and hit companies’ bottom lines.

One example is when CD put Aviation sector on Warning because of oil crisis. I was directly involved in scenario testing which helped me understand how changes in assumptions affected borrowers’ performance and debt-servicing capacity.

But perhaps the biggest lesson was learning to look beyond the numbers. I realised that creditworthiness isn't determined by financial ratios alone.

You also need to understand what's driving those numbers, the company's wider operating environment, and any additional credit support, such as sovereign guarantees.

So overall, I think the placement taught me how to connect wider market developments with actual lending decisions, and that's something I'm really keen to build on in Structured Finance.

Tell me about a time when you worked with others.

Chief of Marketing at The Economic Tribune, which is a student-run magazine at UCL.

At the time, one of our main objectives was to modernize the magazine's branding and improve readership, which required teamwork and collaboration between my marketing team, the editorial team, and the events team.

One thing I really wanted to emphasise was ensuring everyone had a voice in the process.

I involved colleagues across teams as well as readers through a survey to gather suggestions on how to improve magazine’s website and overall presentation. I made sure everyone on my team was actively involved in the redesign process, rather than having decisions made just by me.

As a result, readership rose 25% and our social media account grew by 10% in followers as well.

My takeaway was that effective teamwork requires creating an environment where voices are heard, and turning the different perspectives into one big outcome.