Credit Risk Analyst Review

The work was varied and interesting, with lots to learn and get my head around, so the early stages were especially challenging and interesting. There were also plenty of one off projects and reports to get involved in during the latter months, meaning the repetitive nature of some of the work was not that noticeable. There were times when I was a little bored, but that was more often due to having to dig through one slightly repetitive task (data entry for example), than because the subject matter was dull.

My team certainly valued my presence and willingness to get involved with as much as possible, as it allowed them to distribute some of their extra work to me when they were very busy. Though there was a definite knowledge and experience gap, they were always happy to give me work to try, and then sit down and explain anything I did not understand. The only downside was that I did occasionally (though not very regularly) feel as though I was given the more menial work to look at, that others didn't want to have to deal with. And though that is the life of an intern, it was frustrating at times.

My manager and supervisors were generally kept quite busy, and so rarely actively checked up on me. If I ever had any questions about work, or wanted to discuss anything, they would always be happy to find time for me, but it often felt like I was initiating things and that I was sometimes forgotten about. At the start this was a bit difficult, as I am quite shy so in a new office environment I didn't always feel comfortable approaching more senior people directly. I like to work fairly independently however, and the other analysts in our team always kept an eye on me, so there was a nice balance.

A lot of our work came from other teams, rather than being initiated in our team. Consequently, how busy I was varied greatly during the year, which was in fact quite nice. There were days when I was so busy I hardly left my desk even to eat or grab a drink, and there were others when very little work came through our team, and so I could relax a lot more. On these days as well, no one minded if you take some time for personal things (booking train tickets etc) as everyone knew how varied our workload could be. However, there was usually something that I could be getting on with, even if it was not very high priority, so that I was rarely completely bored and at a loss for what to do.

I was probably given as much responsibility as was realistically possible given the nature of the work. Most analysts are assigned a portfolio of companies to look after, and then all work relating to them is sent directly to the analyst, and they are largely left to it. As an intern, you cant be assigned to companies for various reasons (yearly turnover, lack of training etc). So, though I was doing similar work to most analysts in our team, and at times preparing reports for very senior department members, it was generally indirect work, and would be sent back to whoever had given me the work in the first place, rather than just being submitted directly for approval.

Firstly, there was minimal training received before starting: almost everything learned this year was either picked up from doing things, getting something wrong, and learning from it, or from a brief explanation when I was asked to look at something. Secondly, most of what I was learning was very specific to either credit risk- financial regulations, analysis methods, financial terminology- or to UBS- learning to use systems and processes. There were very little practical methods from my course that related to my placement or vice-versa, the most relevant skills learned were general, such as increased proficiency with office packages, or "soft skills" like time management, attention to detail etc

Everyone in the office was extremely friendly and worked hard to incorporate all the interns in to the office atmosphere as quickly as possible. People were generally happy to stop and chat at times, there was no feeling that you had to be working flat out all the time, people would regularly organise quiz nights or sports betting tournaments (on the rugby world cup for example). The general atmosphere was usually quite relaxed; there was an awareness that work needed doing, but if you got it done, no one minded you having a bit of fun along the way.

The internship itself was generally well organised. By around lunch time on the first day the interns were on the floor and getting set up, and it was made clear who your line manager was, who you should talk to about university issues, etc. There were some minor issues for some interns around systems access etc, but that is to be expected. There were also a couple of intern tasks organised throughout the year, such as the Christmas charity toy appeal. However, more of an effort could probably have been made around training, and letting the interns get to know each other so that they felt more relaxed at work. I know from friends interning at other banks, that most of them had a week or two of training at the start during which the bank also organised intern social events and so on, which would probably have helped.

There was very little formal training, as previously mentioned. Almost everything that I learned was learning on the job, and was primarily a result of being asked to do something and having to ask them to explain it. No one seemed to be aware of what training or knowledge I might already have, and so it was sometimes assumed I knew how to do something I didn't, or that my base level of knowledge was higher than it was. Consequently, the training received was quite variable in its quality and specificity.

I will not know until the end of the placement whether I get a place on the graduate training program or not, and from previous years the rate generally appears to be around 3 places from the 14 or so interns in the department. However, I would certainly be keen to take the position if I was offered one. I have enjoyed my year here, and very much like the atmosphere and culture at UBS. Additionally, I have been placed in one team within credit risk for the entire year- the graduate scheme involves 3 rotations with different teams in Risk, so I would relish the opportunity to experience different aspects of the department.

The social scene around the office was not great, but this was more a function of the team I was in than anything else. The average age in the team I was in I would guess to be approaching 40, and most of the team had kids at home. Consequently, they were not really in a position to go for a spontaneous drink after work. However, they were fun people and when events were organised sufficiently in advance (such a quiz nights, or a drink with visiting team members) they were almost always keen, and we had fun. Among the other interns, we were quite spread out among the departments, and were often busy outside of work, so it was hard to organise socials. Again though, it did happen at times, and was always fun when we did get out for drinks.

Around the office, drinks were generally very expensive, so we rarely stayed for more than one or two. I lived further out of the middle of London though, and so where I lived was much cheaper to socialise.

I very rarely went out around work, so I am not really in a position to comment.

UBS used to run sports teams and music groups, but in the last few years these have apparently been wound down. This was disappointing, as I was very keen to join the rugby team when I first arrived. However, one of the benefits of being based in London is that there is so much to do, you can pretty much find anything you are interested in. So though not work related, I did eventually find a rugby team to get involved with, and people in the department did occasionally organise one off events, such as indoor cricket or darts.