Analyst, Global Banks Review

My placement was in Lloyds Global Corporates and Financial Institutions Division (within Commercial Banking). Specifically I was placed in the Global Banks team; a small team of 30 that manages Lloyds' relationship with every major bank in the world. This placement gave me a rare opportunity to gain exposure to and communicate with very senior clients which would not have been possible in other areas, and my line managers (Matthew Tait/ Kelsey Yarlett) always ensured that I was happy and had a challenging but not excessive workload. Overall an excellent placement with enjoyable work.

Despite being very senior the team around me were always willing to give me time and help with my development and often asked me to pick up research tasks for them, giving genuinely positive feedback which went towards my performance review. Everyone was very helpful and I was given a great deal of responsibility with a lot of the tasks I was given, which included contacting clients in different countries and meeting executives face to face at conferences and client meetings.

My line manager was This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions (Director of Lloyds relationship with Southern Europe and Latin America). Despite being extremely busy [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] donated his time to aiding my development wherever possible, and in order to ensure that I got adequate time and attention he delegated "Line Managing" me to his Associate, This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions was brilliant and took to Line Managing me really well, giving me constant feedback and donating a significant amount of her time to ensuring that I was always sure of what was required of me in terms of the tasks she was giving me.

The workload was great; my only criticism (if I had to give one) would be that some other interns had far less work - it generally depends on your line manager. Personally my Line Manager kept on top of my workload, giving me more tasks if I wasn't busy or taking tasks away if I was buried in work.

Along with conducting research and producing documents for senior colleagues, I was given the responsibility of meeting and talking to several senior clients, participating in client phone calls and attending conferences. Lloyds isn't overly hierarchical so senior bankers are always willing to help you and give you feedback, meaning you can get involved in some key work pieces that will genuinely benefit the bank.

Working at Lloyds taught me to be more concise and switched on, meaning I am better at focussing on details and interpersonal communication. The skills aren't that applicable to writing history essays but they are extremely valuable to any career path. The training I received also taught me a great deal about the financial sector which was really useful as this is the area I would like to work in in the future.

The office I was in had a great atmosphere in general, where everyone was driven to working hard and delivering but willing to talk to each other and make jokes when appropriate. It meant that the office always had a positive vibe; most colleagues genuinely got on as friends and so even if there was a slightly duller period in terms of workload you never felt disappointed to be in the office.

My main criticism of the placement (and it was still a well organised placement overall - hence the 7 star rating) would be the organisational side of things. Many Line Managers weren't kept fully up to date with when the calibration would be and when they should be interviewing us etc. The "Intern Charity Challenge" (fundraising in teams throughout the placement) was also detrimental to my workload as there was an element of pressure to raise a certain amount of money: I personally would like to see this challenge downsized in favour of focussing more on gaining relevant experience in banking. Overall however the placement was well structured with scheduled feedback, training and development sessions and a clearly defined framework within which we were to work.

The training we received as interns was excellent; we had sessions with senior colleagues talking us through the departments they manage and most colleagues were also happy to talk you through their roles during working hours if you wanted to find out more about a particular area of the bank or explore a certain area.

Lloyds offers a great graduate scheme, giving 4 rotations in different areas of the bank and providing funding for you to do any relevant training or qualifications such as the CFA award. The company has good internal development and progression meaning that it is well suited to aspirational people wanting to progress with their careers. The Emerging Talent Forum also ensures that all interns, graduates and Associates receive a good amount of developmental support and continued training.

There was a great social scene as most interns were living in halls, meaning they could go out to bars etc after work and everyone caught up at lunch times too. Unfortunately this wasn't the same for interns commuting from home (like me) as if you live within an hour and a half radius of the workplace you don't get paid accommodation and therefore miss out on the social side of the internship.

Central London prices.

The nightlife was obviously great (being in central London) due to the number of bars and clubs etc and also the number of other interns. If you are staying in the accommodation then a lot of other interns will go out clubbing or to a bar quite often. I was commuting from home so I wasn't going out as often but obviously London has an abundance of bars and pubs!

Being in central London there was always something going on and Lloyds are very big on volunteering so there were plenty of opportunities to do that with other interns. There are also a number of sports events and I played for the Lloyds rugby team every Wednesday which was a great way to talk to colleagues.