Guides / City guides / London
Break into investment banking in London.
London recruits earlier than you think, reviews applications as they arrive, and fills places months before deadlines. Here is how the cycle works, who to target and what to have ready.
The London recruiting year.
Most students apply in the summer and autumn of their penultimate year.
- August
Summer internship portals open
Applications for the next summer’s internships open for penultimate-year students. Goldman Sachs opened its EMEA 2027 summer analyst programme on 15 August 2026 and reviews on a rolling basis.
What to do: Have your CV, target list and motivation answers ready by July, so you can apply in the first two weeks.
- September–October
Spring week applications open
First-year students apply for spring weeks, usually from September and October. Some banks split them by division.
What to do: First-years: apply to 15 to 20 spring weeks.
- October
Big deadlines hit
Many large banks close early. In the 2026 cycle, Bank of America’s London 2027 summer analyst deadline was 11 October and Morgan Stanley’s was 18 October.
What to do: Don’t wait for the deadline: with rolling review, places can be gone weeks before it.
- November–February
Tests, video interviews, assessment centres
Shortlisted candidates move through online tests, recorded video interviews and assessment centres.
What to do: Drill technicals and fit answers daily. This is where most candidates fall out.
- March–April
Spring weeks run
One-week programmes for first-years, often ending in an assessment for a fast-track to a summer internship. In the last tracked cycle, 31% of spring interns converted to summer offers.
What to do: Prepare for the end-of-week case study like a real interview.
- June–August
Summer internships
Around ten weeks working on live deals. Banks hire most of their graduate analyst classes straight from their summer interns.
What to do: Treat it as a ten-week interview.
Dates are from the 2026–27 cycle and move each year.
Ways in.
Spring week
A one-week insight programme in March or April. The best route to a fast-track summer internship.
Summer internship
Around ten weeks the summer before final year. Most graduate analyst offers come from here.
Off-cycle internship
Three to six months at other times of year. Common at boutiques and mid-market banks.
Graduate programme
Direct entry for students who missed the internship route, with far fewer places.
Who hires in London.
Apply across all three tiers. Most offers go to candidates with a list of 30 to 40 banks, not 5.
| Tier | Examples | Why apply |
|---|---|---|
| Bulge brackets | Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS | The biggest classes and the widest range of teams. Also the earliest portals. |
| Elite boutiques | Evercore, Lazard, Rothschild & Co, PJT Partners, Centerview, Moelis, Perella Weinberg | Pure advisory work and small classes, with more responsibility early. |
| Mid-market and European | Jefferies, Houlihan Lokey, Berenberg, Piper Sandler, Deutsche Numis, Peel Hunt, BNP Paribas, Société Générale | Often less crowded, with off-cycle roles and real deal exposure. |
A London quirk: some banks take only one application from you a year. Barclays, for example, accepts one student application a year worldwide, so choose the division carefully.
Are you London-ready?
Tick what you’ve done. Be honest: interviewers will find out.
The London selection process.
- Online application, often reviewed on a rolling basis, so early beats perfect.
- Online tests: numerical reasoning, situational judgement, sometimes a game-based test.
- Recorded video interview, with fit and motivation questions against a timer.
- Assessment centre or superday: back-to-back interviews, a case study and a group exercise.
Visas and work rights.
If you study in the UK, the Graduate visa lets you work without sponsorship after your degree. From 1 January 2027 it drops from two years to 18 months for bachelor’s and master’s graduates; PhDs keep three years. The date you apply decides which you get.
Large banks regularly sponsor Skilled Worker visas for analysts, but smaller firms may not, so ask early. This is general information, not immigration advice.
Test yourself: London
Questions from the Mandate app. Try each before you open it.
In London, “spring weeks” are…
Short insight programmes for first-years. They are one of the main early routes into London banking.
London banks often recruit on a rolling basis. What does that mean for you?
Apply early: places can fill before the deadline. Applying in the first weeks of the window is safer.
Which body regulates financial conduct in the UK?
The FCA. The Prudential Regulation Authority (part of the Bank of England) handles prudential regulation.
The UK’s main stock index of the largest listed companies is…
The FTSE 100. It tracks the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.
Get ready before applications open.
Mandate covers London’s timelines, IFRS accounting, online tests, video interviews and assessment centres, with daily drills and mock interviews.