The "Why JP Morgan?" interview question is guaranteed to come up.

It appears on HireVue screens, in first-round interviews, and during Superdays. Interviewers have heard hundreds of answers to it, most of them forgettable. Here's how to give one that isn't.

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Read more: Investment Banking Interview Prep Guide

What Interviewers Are Really Asking

"Why JP Morgan?" seems like a softball. It's not.

The interviewer is evaluating four things at once:

Dimension	What They're Assessing
Research depth	Did you go beyond the careers page?
Self-awareness	Do you understand what you actually want from this job?
Differentiation	Can you explain why JP Morgan specifically, not just "a top bank"?
Commitment signal	Are you likely to accept and stay if offered?

A weak answer fails on multiple fronts. A strong answer threads all four together in under 90 seconds.

How to Structure Your Answer

Think of your response as three parts that should flow naturally. The whole thing should clock in around 60-90 seconds.

The Hook (10-15 Seconds)

Open with something specific. Reference a deal, an initiative, a conversation with someone at the firm. This signals immediately that you've done real research.

Generic openers like "JP Morgan is a top bank" tell the interviewer nothing.

The Fit (30-40 Seconds)

Connect that specificity to your own background and goals. Why does this thing about JP Morgan matter to you?

This is where most candidates fall flat. They talk about the firm without linking it to themselves.

The Close (15-20 Seconds)

Land on what you want to do and why the firm is uniquely positioned to help you do it. Be concrete about the division, role, or type of work. Leave room for follow-up questions.

What Makes JP Morgan Different

If you're going to claim you want JP Morgan specifically, you need to know what actually distinguishes it from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and everyone else.

Scale and Integration

JP Morgan is a universal bank. It merged commercial banking and investment banking in a way that Goldman and Morgan Stanley haven't. That means broader deal flow, cross-selling opportunities, and exposure to the full capital structure. If you're interested in leveraged finance or anything that touches both lending and advisory, this matters.

Balance Sheet Size

JPM has the largest balance sheet of any U.S. bank with roughly $4.6 trillion in assets as of late 2025.

This allows it to commit capital in ways pure-play investment banks can't. For clients, that's a huge advantage. For you, it means working on deals that smaller shops simply couldn't execute.

Direct Lending and Private Credit

The firm has been aggressively building out its direct lending capabilities, providing billions in capital to support both large-cap and middle-market sponsors.

If you're interested in private credit and how it's reshaping the financing landscape, this is happening at scale here.

Recent Deals You Can Reference

You should always be able to name a recent deal.

See JP Morgan's Global Dealmaking Trends for more:

Advised on the MPS + Mediobanca merger (€17 billion). This created Italy's third-largest financial institution
Acted on 4 of the 5 largest EMEA IPOs post-summer, including SMG, Noba Bank, and Verisure
Lead financial advisor on Fifth Third's $10.9 billion acquisition of Comerica
Key role in Sycamore Partners' $23.7 billion take-private of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Pick one that's relevant to your target group and know enough about it to discuss intelligently if they follow up.

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Tip: The firm's M&A page is worth browsing before your interview.

Culture and Career Development

JP Morgan tends to be described as more supportive of career development compared to Goldman's sink-or-swim intensity. Jamie Dimon emphasizes mentorship publicly and often.

The firm's Business Principles explicitly value humility, direct feedback, and long-term thinking.

Whether you reference this depends on whether you have a genuine story to support it—a conversation with an alum, an info session, whatever. Don't fabricate cultural fit.

Common Mistakes

The Generic Prestige Answer

"JP Morgan is one of the top banks in the world with a great reputation."

This applies to five other firms. It says nothing about why JP Morgan specifically, and it signals zero research effort.

The Empty Flattery Answer

"I've heard the people here are incredibly smart and the culture is amazing."

Everyone says this about every bank. It's fine as a supporting point but useless as your lead.

Rambling

Some candidates try to cover everything: the firm's history, every division, multiple deals, their own entire resume. By minute three, the interviewer has stopped listening. Constraint is your friend here.

The Copy-Paste Answer

If your answer would work just as well for Goldman or Morgan Stanley with a name swap, it's not specific enough. The interviewer will notice.

Sample Answers

Investment Banking Example

"Three things drew me to JP Morgan specifically. First, I followed the Walgreens Boots Alliance take-private closely. The complexity of structuring $23 billion across both syndicated and direct lending markets is exactly the kind of cross-capital-structure work I want to learn. Second, when I spoke with Sarah Chen in the Healthcare group during the fall recruiting event, she described how juniors get exposure to both sponsor and corporate clients from day one, which isn't the case everywhere. Third, JP Morgan's position as a universal bank means I'd see the full financing picture, not just the advisory side. That's where I want to build my career because my background in credit analysis gives me a foundation I can build on here."

Why it works: Specific deal, named contact, clear connection to personal background, explains why JPM and not competitors.

Asset Management Example

"I'm drawn to JP Morgan Asset Management for two reasons. First, the scale—over $3 trillion in AUM means exposure to institutional clients and strategies I wouldn't see at a smaller shop. Second, I've been following the firm's push into sustainable investing, including the OpenInvest acquisition. ESG integration is where I want to focus my career, and JP Morgan is building real infrastructure around it rather than treating it as a marketing exercise. When I interned at [firm], I worked on ESG screening for fixed income portfolios, and I want to go deeper on the implementation side here."

Why it works: Specific to the division, references a real strategic move, connects to prior experience.

Technology Example

"Two things specifically. First, JP Morgan's tech investment is unmatched in banking—the firm spends over $15 billion annually on technology, and the engineering challenges at that scale are what I'm looking for. Second, I'm interested in the intersection of AI and risk management. I read about the firm's work using machine learning for fraud detection and credit risk modeling, and that's directly aligned with my thesis work on anomaly detection. The infrastructure to deploy models at production scale across a global bank is something I can't get at a fintech startup."

Why it works: Shows understanding of JPM's tech footprint, connects to specific personal expertise, explains the JPM vs. alternatives tradeoff.

Tips for Answering

Reference the Business Principles

JP Morgan publishes detailed Business Principles covering client service, operational excellence, integrity, and culture. Most candidates don't read them. If you can authentically connect one to your own values or experience, you'll stand out.

Don't just recite them. Integrate them into a real point.

Have a Deal Ready

Nothing impresses more than being able to discuss a specific recent deal the firm worked on. It shows you pay attention to the market, understand the work, and care enough to prepare.

The 2025 Investment Banking Recap podcast is a good source for current deal context.

Tailor to Your Division

"Why JP Morgan?" for Investment Banking is different from "Why JP Morgan?" for Asset Management or Technology. The sample answers above show how the specifics should shift based on where you're interviewing.

Use Your Network

The strongest answers often include a reference to a real conversation with someone at the firm:

"When I spoke with [name] in the [group] team, they mentioned [specific thing about deal flow, culture, or work style]. That confirmed what I'd read about the firm and made me more interested."

This shows you've done real diligence beyond reading articles, and it creates a connection point the interviewer might follow up on.

Practice Out Loud

You want it to sound natural, not rehearsed. Know your three points cold, but let the exact phrasing vary each time you practice.

JP Morgan's own interview tips page covers some basics, but practicing with a friend or mentor is more valuable.

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How to Answer "Why JP Morgan?" Interview Question (2026 Guide)