After the online application in September, I waited until December which is when I heard back from them for the first interview (phone), then in January I was invited to the Assessment Center in London. The phone interview was fairly straightforward, apart one or two questions. The AC consisted of the numerical test in the morning, an individual case study based on some macro research produced by HSBC and then 3 interviews (motivational/business interviews). The case study was not so difficult, only problem was time. However the lady to whom you had to present it was very relaxed and nice. What seemed odd to me was the very small amount of technical questions. Most of the interviews were centered around my motivation for becoming a trader and my soft skills, also a bit about general market trends (nothing too specific or hard).