Summer Intern, Corporate Advisory & Structured Finance Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement: it was an opportunity to get a deeper insight not only into two of the bank’s divisions (Energy & Infrastructure in Corporate Advisory, and CFILM), but also into the bank, its culture, and most interestingly, the internal efforts that have been made to wipe the slate clean, deal with any legacy issues, and build a stronger foundation. The work I did was varied and involved pitch book work, basic excel spreadsheets, modelling, reading into annual accounts and some degree of presentations / networking / intern projects. Overall, I have very much enjoyed it and would recommend others to apply to the scheme.

I always felt valued by colleagues in both divisions – the work I did always had some purpose, and most times I would be working on a note or pitch book material that would eventually be sent or discussed with clients. I was also involved and copied into relevant conversations, and never felt that the tasks I was given were minor and administrative in nature.

Little support was given at the beginning: support / guidance received on an ask-basis system. Any sort of doubt or question that I had, graduates and others in the team were available and helpful. There was also online material and internal training material that we can read on when we had questions. We also had weekly one on one meetings with desk managers / line managers.

On a daily basis, in my first rotation I would be busy from 9:00am to 8-10:00pm. No one forced interns to stay, but there was enough work to be done to keep a relatively busy day, with lunch break in the middle and some other small breaks to have coffee meetings / network with people across the bank. In my second rotation, there was less work to do (also given the fact things slow down during August), and so I was able to keep relatively busy from 9:00am to 6-7:00pm.

I was given plenty of responsibility. Like I mentioned previously, the majority of the work was to be presented to clients, which is a heavy responsibility. We also had a charity / entrepreneurship challenge, an intern brief project, and a fire drill assessment at the end – enough projects to keep us busy and force us to manage our time appropriately.

The skills I have developed will be extremely useful not only in finance / excel intensive modules during university, but will also aid me if I decide to work in banking in the corporate side (less relevant for financial markets / wealth management / asset management) of the industry. Besides this, we also received technical training and training on competencies / risk / behaviours which I believe will be helpful regardless of the trajectory I take after finishing my studies.

People in the office were friendly and more than willing to take time off to help or meet up for coffee to chat. In Corporate Advisory, team was small whereas second rotation in CFILM, there were many more people – these are factors which affect the atmosphere, with the people in my second rotation being naturally more involved with each other and talkative.

Work placement was well organised, but I believe there should be more structure to the scheme. Work for my second rotation felt unstructured at times – whereas some of my colleagues rotating in other parts of Structured Finance had a more structured and timetabled experience, with several outputs / presentations timetables from the outset. It depends on your personality, but I would prefer the second type of structure as opposed to more free flowing, more opportunities to talk to people and get work off of them. We also had an induction week in Edinburgh, though I believe a more focused experience within the London office on specific training for the divisions would have been better, ie less time devoted to overall bank group presentations.

The firm invested in training for interns during the scheme as well as one session at the beginning. We also had to complete online modules – overall, I felt the firm did invest in me and my development. We are also encouraged to take time off to talk to people over coffee. All interns in my scheme had to complete learning logs, had desk and line managers, and also a buddy to bounce ideas off of.

Employment prospects within the organisation are appealing. There is a general feeling that outlook is gradually improving, and that is the only comment I care to make in terms of medium / long run view on employment prospects. Much more important in my opinion is that the graduate programme is rotational in nature, and would me to explore four areas of the bank which I find extremely interesting. This is extremely appealing, regardless of medium / long run prospects.

There was a good social scene amongst interns, with many of us heading out for drinks on Friday after work, not including one-off sporting activities, and getting coffee / lunch with other interns / people working in the office. Everyone was friendly and willing to help each other out. Environment was very collaborative.

Typical cost of living and socialising for London. There is plenty of food places around, with most ranging in the £4-8 range. I found a place to stay that is 10 minutes via London Overground in Airbnb, and am paying c. £2000 for 10 weeks. I also pay for monthly passes, which I have definitely saved me money as opposed to just charging my oyster card. Overall, my expenses are c.£350-£450 per month, excluding accommodation and transportation.

Nightlife is alright, especially if you interested predominantly in going to a pub and having a drink other interns/colleagues. Clubbing is not something I can comment on, as I did not join any such activity – but would guess, once again, is the average London experience – cramped up spaces where one pays far too much for any single drink. I personally stick with pubs around work place – of which there are plenty.

Outside of work we had a charity / entrepreneurship event, where myself and 6 others decided to do a sponsored walk of 20 miles. We raised c.£500 online, and did relatively well for amount of effort that was put into the event. There are also opportunities to go outside and get involved with pitching activities, and meet the people and visit offices for some of the banks tech initiatives – which was quite exciting.