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Investment banking cover letter template

An investment banking cover letter is one page in five short paragraphs: who you are and the group you want, why banking, why this bank, your best story with a number, and a close. Many banks don't ask for one, but Evercore requires it for campus applications, so check each posting.

1Opening
Who you are, the program, the group and the office.
2Why banking
One deal you followed and what it showed you about the work.
3Why this bank
Who you spoke to, or the group's work. Nothing that fits every bank.
4Best story
Analytical work you did yourself, with a number.
5Close
What you would bring and a thank you. About 250 to 400 words in all.

Example letter

275 words

A junior applying for a summer analyst role. Invented applicant, bank and deals.

About the right length for one page.

Dear Harrow & Vale Recruiting Team,

I am a junior at Indiana University studying finance and accounting, and I am applying for the Summer Analyst program in Harrow & Vale's Industrials group in New York. Industrials is the sector I have studied most closely.

I came to banking through one deal. Last spring our investment club followed the sale of a pump maker to a larger competitor at about 11 times EBITDA. I rebuilt the buyer's case from its filings and saw that most of the premium rested on expected cost savings. I want to do the work behind that number: the model, the comparable deals and the case a board signs off on.

When I spoke with Maya Brooks, a second-year analyst in your Industrials group, she told me analysts there build the first draft of the model on sell-side deals and present pages to clients by their second year. Your sale of a regional packaging company to a private equity buyer this year is the kind of mid-market process I want to learn first.

This summer I interned in the finance team of a family-owned building supply distributor with $80 million in revenue. The owners were weighing an offer for one of their four branches. I built a three-statement model of the branch and found that its margin depended on one contractor who made up 30% of its sales. The owners used my numbers to ask for an earn-out tied to that customer, and the sale closed on those terms.

I would bring careful modeling, a real interest in industrial companies and the habit of checking every number before it leaves my desk. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely,
Daniel Okafor

Write your own. The example is there as a guide.

Who you are, the program, the group and the office, in two or three sentences.

One deal or market you followed, named plainly, and what it showed you about the work.

Who you spoke to and what they told you, or the group's work. It should not fit another bank.

Analytical work you did yourself, such as a model, a project or a job, with a number.

What you would bring and a thank you. Two sentences.

Do banks want one?

What each bank says on its own careers pages, read October 15, 2026.

The student careers pages of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citi, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and PJT Partners don't mention cover letters. Requirements vary by posting, so follow the posting.

What to write, part by part

Open a part for the detail and what the banks say about it.

Name the group and the officeBanks hire into groups.

Deutsche Bank asks you to research exactly which division you want and apply to one role in one country. Goldman Sachs asks students to review its divisions and find where their experience fits. If the program places you in a group later, name the two groups you would pick and say why in a clause.

From Deutsche Bank FAQ, Goldman Sachs students
Why banking: the work, not the payA deal, not a list of traits.

Morgan Stanley's recruiters ask the middle paragraphs to explain what attracted you to the type of work. Say what the work is in your own words, such as building the case for a price, then show it through one deal or market you followed. Leave out the hours, the pay and the word passion.

From Morgan Stanley recruiters
State your deal interest concretelyName the deal and one detail.

A concrete line names the parts: the buyer, the target, a rough price or multiple, and the one thing you saw, such as how much of the price rested on cost savings. Use only public information, get the numbers right and be ready to discuss the deal in the interview. One deal told well beats three named in passing.

Why this bank and this groupNothing that fits every bank.

In its interview advice, Deutsche Bank asks candidates to understand how it differs from other banks and why the division they chose suits them better than another. In a letter that means a person you spoke to and what they told you, a type of deal the group does, or the size of client it serves. Morgan Stanley's recruiters also ask why you want to work for the company in particular.

From Deutsche Bank FAQ, Morgan Stanley recruiters
Mention who you met, in one sentenceA name and what they told you.

PJT Partners suggests coffee chats, events and alumni networks to get to know its people. Morgan Stanley's recruiters suggest saying in the opening if you heard about the role at a recruiting event. Name one or two people at most, with what they told you that shaped your choice, and ask them first if they are happy to be named.

From PJT Partners students, Morgan Stanley recruiters
Keep it to one pageAbout 250 to 400 words.

That is Morgan Stanley's outline: an opening that says which position you are applying for, two or three middle paragraphs, and a last paragraph that thanks the reader. It fits in about 250 to 400 words. Read it once out loud and cut every sentence that repeats the resume.

From Morgan Stanley recruiters

Three short examples

Written by us for invented applicants and an invented bank. Open one to read it.

Sophomore, no finance internship yetA family business, not a bank

Dear Harrow & Vale Recruiting Team,

I am a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin studying economics, applying for the Sophomore Summer Analyst program in your Dallas office.

I don't have a finance internship yet, so here is what I have done instead. I keep the books for my family's two food trucks, which took in $410,000 last year. When someone offered to buy one of the trucks, I built a simple cash flow model, showed that the offer paid about three years of that truck's profit, and helped my parents ask for 15% more. They got 10% more. That week is why I want to learn how real companies are valued. At your Austin info session, Carlos Vega from the energy group told me sophomores in the program spend the summer on one deal team, which is how I want to learn.

Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Sofia Martinez

MBA, summer associateFrom supply chain to banking

Dear Harrow & Vale Recruiting Team,

I am a first-year MBA student at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, applying for the Summer Associate role in your Consumer and Retail group in Chicago. Before Kellogg I spent five years in supply chain at a packaged food company.

I want to move into banking because of one project. When my company bought a smaller snack brand, I was asked to check whether its plant could take on our products. My capacity model cut the expected savings by a third, and the price was renegotiated before signing. I want to build the whole case, not one input. Aisha Rahman, a Kellogg alum in your consumer group, told me associates there lead the operational diligence on food and beverage deals, which is the work I know best.

I would bring an operator's view of what a deal really saves. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Lauren Park

Experienced hireFrom Big Four valuation to M&A

Dear Harrow & Vale Recruiting Team,

I am a senior associate on the valuation team of a Big Four firm in Boston, applying for the Associate role in your M&A group.

For three years I have valued companies after the deal is done, through purchase price allocations and impairment tests for audit clients. On my last engagement, a $1.2 billion software acquisition, I found that the customer contracts had been valued on renewal rates the seller's own data did not support, and the buyer's auditors accepted our lower figure. I want to do that work before signing, when it changes the price. Your group's work for software and services companies is the closest match to what I have valued.

I would bring three years of valuation under audit review and the habit of testing every assumption against the data. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely, Rachel Kim

Mistakes to avoid

Most weak banking letters go wrong in the same four places.

  • Opening

    I am writing to express my strong interest in the Analyst position at your prestigious firm.

    Name the program, the group and the office in the first sentence.

  • Why banking

    I have always been passionate about finance and thrive in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

    Name one deal you followed and what it showed you.

  • Resume

    As you can see on my resume, I was responsible for financial modeling.

    Morgan Stanley's recruiters say not to repeat skills the resume lists. Tell one story.

  • Bank name

    A letter to Evercore that says how much you want to join Lazard.

    Morgan Stanley's recruiters say people often forget to switch the name. Check before you upload.

Then say why banking out loud

Why banking and why this bank come up in almost every banking interview. Practice your answers with an AI interviewer that asks follow-ups.

Practice your fit answersExample answer: why investment banking

Questions people ask

Do investment banks require a cover letter?

It depends on the bank and the program. Evercore requires one for campus applications, Moelis does not require one, and Bank of America asks MBA Associate applicants to attach the resume and cover letter in one document. Check each posting.

Should I write one if it is optional?

Write one when you have something the resume can't say: a move from another field, a gap, a reason for one office or a group you already know well. Change the why-this-bank paragraph for each bank, since Morgan Stanley's recruiters say most mistakes come from a generic letter.

How long should an investment banking cover letter be?

One page. Morgan Stanley's recruiters describe an opening paragraph, two or three middle paragraphs and a closing thank you. That is about 250 to 400 words.

Who should I address it to?

Morgan Stanley's recruiters suggest the person's name if you know who it is. Otherwise “Dear [Bank] Recruiting Team” works.

Can I use AI to write it?

Write it yourself and use tools only to check spelling. Morgan Stanley's recruiters say a letter written from scratch sounds more authentic than a generic one, and Deutsche Bank strongly recommends candidates don't use AI tools to answer its video interview questions.

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