Citi Assessment Tests

Citi Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client asks whether their account will be open by the end of next week, because they want to move money in before a deadline of their own. The checks sit with another team, whose queue you cannot see. The client has been waiting three weeks already and is plainly losing patience. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the client that the checks team handles the timing and give them the address to write to, so they can ask about the date from the people who actually hold the queue themselves.
   2. Reassure the client that the account will certainly be open by the end of next week, because three weeks is already longer than these checks usually take to finish.
   3. Tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back to them either way.
   4. Tell the client you will let them know as soon as there is news, and chase the checks team when you next have a reason to be in touch with them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back to them either way.

   Least effective: B. Reassure the client that the account will certainly be open by the end of next week, because three weeks is already longer than these checks usually take to finish.

   A: Sends the client to chase your own firm: the relationship is yours, and a client three weeks in should not have to find the right internal door.

   B: Gives a certainty you cannot back: the queue belongs to another team and you cannot see it, so the client makes a decision about their own deadline on the strength of a guess.

   D: Leaves the client with no fixed point: "as soon as there is news" gives somebody planning around a deadline nothing they can actually plan with.

   The most effective response is to tell the client you cannot commit to a date yet, explain that you are asking the checks team today, and agree a time tomorrow when you will come back either way: it is honest about what you do not know, it does the one thing that can produce an answer, and it gives them a fixed time to expect contact. It beats telling them the checks team handles timing and giving them an address to write to, because a client should not be routed around your own firm after three weeks. It beats saying you will let them know as soon as there is news, because an open-ended promise is no use to somebody working to a date. The least effective response is reassuring them the account will certainly be open by the end of next week: it converts a queue you cannot see into a commitment they will act on, and when it slips they will have moved money against it. That is a false assurance rather than a weak way of handling the ask. The principle: never sell certainty you do not own, and replace it with a time you will come back.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an audit junior. The client’s financial controller has asked you for a summary of the queries raised so far, which will take an hour. Your manager has asked for a section of testing by tonight, which will take the rest of the day. The controller is going on leave tomorrow for two weeks. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the summary first because the controller is leaving, and tell your manager tonight if the testing has not been finished as a result of it.
   2. Ask the controller to send her questions by email so you can answer them from wherever you are while she is away on leave for the fortnight.
   3. Get on with the testing and leave the controller's summary until she is back in a fortnight, since your manager's work is the priority and nobody has said otherwise about the summary.
   4. Tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes, since the testing can absorb an hour and the controller cannot.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes, since the testing can absorb an hour and the controller cannot.

   Least effective: C. Get on with the testing and leave the controller's summary until she is back in a fortnight, since your manager's work is the priority and nobody has said otherwise about the summary.

   A: Reorders your manager's work without asking: she may have a reason the testing cannot move that you do not know about.

   B: Solves the wrong problem: she asked for a summary of queries raised, not for a channel, and she wants it before she goes.

   C: Declines to raise a two-week window: the controller's leave is the fact your manager does not have, and the choice is made by not making it.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager that the controller leaves tomorrow and ask whether to spend the hour on her summary before she goes: your manager owns the ordering, the leave is the fact that makes the hour urgent, and asking takes a minute. It beats doing the summary first and telling your manager tonight if the testing slipped, because reordering her work without asking is her call to make. It beats asking the controller to send her questions by email while she is away, because a mailbox is not the summary she asked for. The least effective response is getting on with the testing and leaving the summary until she is back in a fortnight: a two-week window closes tomorrow and the person who could decide is never told it exists. That is avoiding the question rather than answering it wrongly. The principle: when a window is about to close, the person who owns the priorities needs to know today.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client says at a review that your colleague is “hopeless” and asks you to agree, in front of two of her own staff. Your colleague has in fact been slow on two things. You have to keep both relationships working. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Defend your colleague completely and say that the delays were unavoidable, without acknowledging that two things genuinely have been slow.
   2. Agree with her in front of her team that your colleague has been hopeless, and say that several people at your own firm have found him difficult to work with too.
   3. Say nothing about your colleague either way and move the meeting on to the next item on the agenda as quickly as you reasonably can.
   4. Say that you will not discuss a colleague that way, acknowledge that two things have been slow, and set out what you will do to put them right.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Say that you will not discuss a colleague that way, acknowledge that two things have been slow, and set out what you will do to put them right.

   Least effective: B. Agree with her in front of her team that your colleague has been hopeless, and say that several people at your own firm have found him difficult to work with too.

   A: Denies what the client can see: she has two real examples, and a blanket defence tells her you are not listening.

   B: Joins a client in criticising a colleague in front of her team: it buys a moment of agreement and tells the client that your firm's own people undermine each other.

   C: Leaves the complaint unanswered: she raised it in front of her staff and will read silence as agreement or as evasion.

   The most effective response is to say you will not discuss a colleague that way, acknowledge that two things have been slow, and set out what you will do to put them right: it refuses the invitation without dismissing her, concedes the facts she can verify, and moves to the only thing that will change her mind. It beats defending him completely and saying the delays were unavoidable, because denying two real delays destroys your credibility. It beats saying nothing either way and moving the meeting on, because silence in front of her staff answers her the wrong way. The least effective response is agreeing in front of her team that he has been hopeless and that others find him difficult too: you trade your own colleague for a moment of agreement, in front of her staff. That is undermining a colleague rather than defending or dodging badly. The principle: never trade a colleague for a moment of agreement, and answer with what you will do.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A customer’s son has power of attorney and has moved £30,000 out of her account this month. She has come in confused about her balance. You must not discuss your suspicions, and a review has already been raised. She trusts her son completely. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each of them.
   2. Assure her that everything on the account is perfectly in order, so that she is not upset, and leave the review to reach whatever conclusion it reaches in its own time.
   3. Suggest to her directly that her son may well be taking money that he should not be taking, so that she understands what the pattern of payments on the account actually looks like.
   4. Tell her there is a review under way and that you cannot discuss the transactions with her until it has been completed and somebody contacts her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each of them.

   Least effective: B. Assure her that everything on the account is perfectly in order, so that she is not upset, and leave the review to reach whatever conclusion it reaches in its own time.

   B: Tells her the account is in order when a review says otherwise: she leaves reassured, and the one person who could question the payments has been told there is nothing to question.

   C: States a suspicion as a conclusion: it is not yours to reach, and it may wreck a family relationship over payments she authorised.

   D: Withholds her own account information: she is entitled to see her transactions, and refusing them makes the visit useless to her.

   The most effective response is to go through the transactions with her plainly so she can see what has left and when, and ask whether she is happy with each: she is entitled to her own transactions, seeing them is what lets her form her own view, and the question opens the door without accusing anybody. It beats telling her a review is under way and that you cannot discuss the transactions until it finishes, because a review does not remove her right to see her account. It beats suggesting to her that her son may be taking money he should not, because the conclusion is not yours to draw. The least effective response is assuring her everything on the account is perfectly in order: she is told it is fine when it is under review, so the one person who could question the payments is actively reassured. That is a false statement rather than an unhelpfully narrow or overreaching one. The principle: show her the facts and let her ask the question.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. An elderly customer comes in confused about a letter saying his account will close. The letter is from a different part of the bank and you cannot reverse it, but you can see why it was sent and you can raise a case that stops it for thirty days. He has come in on the bus. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain in detail why the letter was sent and what the rules are, so that he understands the position fully before deciding what he wants to do next.
   2. Raise the case to hold the closure and tell him it is all sorted out, without going through what the letter meant or what he needs to do inside the thirty days.
   3. Send him over to the team who sent the letter, with their telephone number written down, and explain that they are the only people who can change anything about the closure.
   4. Explain what the letter means, raise the case that holds the closure for thirty days, and write down what happens next so he has it when he gets home.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Explain what the letter means, raise the case that holds the closure for thirty days, and write down what happens next so he has it when he gets home.

   Least effective: C. Send him over to the team who sent the letter, with their telephone number written down, and explain that they are the only people who can change anything about the closure.

   A: Answers with information rather than action: he understands the closure perfectly and it still happens in thirty days.

   B: Leaves out the part he has to act on: the hold expires, and he has been told it is sorted.

   C: Sends him back out with the whole problem: you can hold the closure for thirty days from where you are sitting, and he came in on the bus because the telephone had not worked.

   The most effective response is to explain what the letter means, raise the case that holds the closure for thirty days, and write down what happens next: it does the one thing that changes the outcome, explains what he came in confused about, and sends him home with it in writing. It beats explaining in detail why the letter was sent and what the rules are, because understanding a closure does not stop it. It beats raising the hold and telling him it is all sorted out, because thirty days he does not understand runs out. The least effective response is sending him to the team who sent the letter with their number written down: the action you could take is not taken, and a customer who travelled in to be dealt with in person is sent back to a telephone number that had already failed him. That is handing it on rather than helping partially. The principle: do the part you can do, then explain the part he has to.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a relationship support assistant. In a client meeting your colleague gives a figure you know is a month out of date. The client writes it down. The meeting has twenty minutes left and the figure matters to what the client decides today. Correcting it means saying so while they are both sitting there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Correct the figure by blaming his preparation in front of the client, saying that this is exactly why the numbers ought to be checked before anybody walks into a meeting.
   2. Say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted with your colleague after the meeting.
   3. Pass your colleague a note about the figure and leave it entirely to him to decide whether he corrects it in front of the client or not.
   4. Say nothing at all while the meeting is still running and send the client a corrected figure by email afterwards, so that nothing has to be said in front of your colleague.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted with your colleague after the meeting.

   Least effective: A. Correct the figure by blaming his preparation in front of the client, saying that this is exactly why the numbers ought to be checked before anybody walks into a meeting.

   A: Makes a stale figure a verdict on a colleague in front of a client: the correction lands, and what the client remembers is that your firm's people do not trust each other.

   C: Gives the decision to the person least able to take it: he has just given the number and would have to unsay it himself, mid-meeting.

   D: Leaves the client deciding on a stale number: they have twenty minutes and a decision, and the email arrives after both.

   The most effective response is to say plainly that the figure has moved since then, give the current one, and take up how it came to be quoted after the meeting: the client is about to decide on it, a month-old figure is a fact rather than a fault, and taking the preparation up afterwards keeps it between the two of you. It beats saying nothing and emailing the client a corrected figure afterwards, because the decision happens inside the twenty minutes. It beats passing him a note and leaving it to him to correct in front of the client, because asking him to unsay it himself in the room is the hardest possible way to fix it. The least effective response is correcting it by blaming his preparation in front of the client: the number is fixed and the firm looks divided. That is personalising it rather than mistiming it or misrouting it. The principle: correct the fact in the room, and take the person outside it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. The colleague who does the weekly cash reconciliation has left and nobody has been trained to replace her. It is due Friday. You have watched her do it a few times and there is a written procedure. Your branch manager is aware the role is vacant. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Attempt the reconciliation on Friday from the written procedure, and ask your branch manager to look over it afterwards rather than before you start on it.
   2. Tell your branch manager that the reconciliation cannot be done this week because the trained person has left, and leave it until somebody is trained.
   3. Tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time so nothing is missed.
   4. Refer the reconciliation on to the area operations team and take it off the branch's list, without sending them the branch records they would need to do it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time so nothing is missed.

   Least effective: D. Refer the reconciliation on to the area operations team and take it off the branch's list, without sending them the branch records they would need to do it.

   A: Puts the check after the work: a first attempt at a cash control is reviewed once it is already done rather than while it can still be steered.

   B: Treats a written procedure as no procedure: the document exists precisely so somebody else can pick it up.

   D: Passes a branch task to a team that does not do it: nobody there has the branch's records, and Friday arrives with the reconciliation no closer to being done.

   The most effective response is to tell your branch manager you will attempt it from the written procedure this Friday, and ask her to check it with you the first time: the procedure exists, you have seen it done, and asking for a check on the first attempt is what makes trying it safe. It beats attempting it from the procedure and asking her to look it over afterwards, because an unchecked first cash reconciliation is the one most likely to be wrong. It beats telling her it cannot be done this week because the trained person has left, because a written procedure is what allows the work to continue. The least effective response is referring it to the area operations team without sending them the branch records: the task goes to people who neither own it nor hold what they would need, and Friday still arrives. That is offloading it rather than attempting it unsafely or declining it. The principle: pick it up from the procedure, and ask to be checked the first time.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. A change next month means one client’s trades will settle a day later than they do now, which will cost them a small amount of interest each time. The change is decided and cannot be altered. Nobody has told the client. Their relationship manager is on leave for two weeks. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the client that nothing about their settlement arrangements is changing, since the difference is small and the relationship manager can explain it properly when she is back.
   2. Telephone the client yourself today and explain the change, since somebody should tell them and you are the person who understands the detail.
   3. Wait for the relationship manager to come back and give her the details then, so the client hears it from the person who deals with them.
   4. Write up what changes, what it costs the client and when it starts, and send it to the relationship manager's cover today so the client can be told before it happens.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Write up what changes, what it costs the client and when it starts, and send it to the relationship manager's cover today so the client can be told before it happens.

   Least effective: A. Tell the client that nothing about their settlement arrangements is changing, since the difference is small and the relationship manager can explain it properly when she is back.

   A: Denies a change you know is coming: the client plans on it, and when the first trade settles late they will have been told the opposite by name.

   B: Bypasses the relationship: a cover exists, and a client hearing a cost increase from an unfamiliar voice will ask questions you cannot answer.

   C: Delays past the event: two weeks is most of the notice available, and the change may land before she returns.

   The most effective response is to write up what changes, what it costs the client and when it starts, and send it to the relationship manager’s cover today: the cover can act now, the client gets notice before the first late settlement, and the person with the relationship still delivers it. It beats waiting for the relationship manager to come back and giving her the details then, because two weeks of the notice period is spent waiting. It beats telephoning the client yourself today, because a cold call about a cost increase raises questions you are not placed to handle. The least effective response is telling the client nothing about their settlement arrangements is changing: they are told the opposite of what is about to happen, and plan around a fact you know to be false. That is a false statement rather than a poorly routed message. The principle: get the news to somebody who can deliver it, in time for it to be notice.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client emails asking why a charge on her statement is £45 rather than the £30 she expected. Charges are calculated by another team, but the tariff is on a page you can see, and it takes two minutes to read. She has asked twice already. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong to her.
   2. Reply asking her to send you last month's statement as well, so that you can compare the two before saying anything about how the charge was calculated.
   3. Send her email over to the charges team without reading the tariff yourself, and close the query on your side so that it no longer shows on your own list.
   4. Reply with a general explanation of how monthly charges can vary, and offer to look up the exact breakdown for her if she still wants it after that.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong to her.

   Least effective: C. Send her email over to the charges team without reading the tariff yourself, and close the query on your side so that it no longer shows on your own list.

   B: Asks the customer for work you do not need: the tariff explains this month's figure on its own, and she is given a task instead of an answer.

   C: Passes the question on for a second time: she has asked twice, the answer is two minutes away on a page in front of you, and she is handed to a team she has no relationship with.

   D: Answers a specific question with a general one: she asked how £45 was arrived at, and she has to ask a third time to get it.

   The most effective response is to read the tariff, reply today explaining exactly how the £45 is made up, and offer to raise it with the charges team if the breakdown still looks wrong: the answer is two minutes away, she has asked twice, and the offer keeps the door open without promising an outcome. It beats replying with a general explanation of how monthly charges can vary, because that does not explain £45. It beats asking her to send last month’s statement for comparison, because nothing in it is needed to read this month’s tariff. The least effective response is sending her email to the charges team unread and closing the query on your side: the question she has now asked three times moves to another team, and she waits again for something you could have answered today. That is handing it on rather than answering it poorly. The principle: if the answer is within reach, reach for it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a personal banking assistant. A long-standing customer wants his daily transfer limit raised to £20,000 today so he can send a deposit to someone he has met online but never in person. He is certain and slightly impatient. The limit change is within what you can do. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.
    2. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.
    3. Tell him the limit cannot be raised today and that he will need to come back another time, without going into why you are uncomfortable with the transfer.
    4. Refer him to the fraud team and take no part in the conversation yourself, since deposits to people met online are exactly what they are there for.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.

    Least effective: A. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.

    A: Decides which parts of the job count: the limit is within your authority, but so is the conversation about why the money is moving, and skipping it is the whole of what the role is for here.

    C: Uses a false obstacle instead of the real reason: he leaves without the information that might actually change his mind, and may simply try another route.

    D: Escalates before speaking to him: an impatient customer handed to a specialist team without a word from you is likely to disengage entirely.

    The most effective response is to explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit: it treats him as an adult, supplies the thing he does not have, and keeps the limit question open rather than making the conversation a refusal. It beats telling him the limit cannot be raised today without going into why, because inventing an obstacle sends him elsewhere with the same plan and no new information. It beats referring him to the fraud team and taking no part yourself, because a cold referral loses the only person he is currently willing to listen to. The least effective response is raising the limit to £20,000 as he asked because it is within what you may do: the transfer is enabled without any of the conversation the situation calls for, purely because the button was within reach. That is treating an authority as the whole job rather than a clumsily handled warning. The principle: authority to do something is not a reason to do it without the conversation that goes with it.