Markets and Securities Services Summer Intern Review

The Markets and Securities summer internship is one of the best compared to similar banks. You have 2 rotations - 4 weeks & 5 weeks and can allocate your preferences before you start regarding product and desk type. (I was very lucky and got two of my top preferences) Everyone is very friendly, it is a great learning environment and a stepping stone towards a future career in banking. HR have created a great program with lots of networking events throughout the summer.

As a summer intern the value added is often very limited but this is expected. You are given a Bloomberg terminal which helps a lot. But obviously you cannot directly talk to clients and give views as you haven't been approved. I had two different experiences on my rotations. On my first smaller desk, I was often delegated small tasks by the Junior on the desk. These tasks helped to improve his day to day job and some of my stuff was sent to clients under his name. I had the chance to go to client meetings and write up notes which made me feel very valued. My second desk was larger and they had a grad rotating who was handed more of the day to day tasks. This rotation was more focused on learning & understanding the desk and the product rather than adding value.

Again this was a mixed view due to the difference in my rotations. However most people are very happy to answer any questions (as long as they aren't silly or obvious) 1st Rotation : Very friendly team who I felt comfortable asking questions to and provided me with a lot of guidance/help regarding my trade idea's and projects. 2nd Rotation: The desk was much busier so it felt like they had less time to support me. However I would just approach them at quieter times with my questions/queries. This desk required me to reach out more and ask for support and guidance. It wasn't spoon-fed to me HR We had a change of HR half way through rotation which wasn't ideal ... However we always had a point of contact for support.

This will vary desk to desk depending on what projects and daily tasks you have to complete. I found myself busy but not stressed by the workload and during quieter periods I could always complete desk shadowing or read primers/news.

I will refer to the Value Added question above. It really depends on the desk you are rotating on. However I wasn't surprised with the amount of responsibility considering you are intern level.

Coming from a science background at university, I had only ever completed small insight weeks. The internship taught me many skills. Firstly you get to develop a deeper understanding of the function of Citi as a whole, and how each desk fits within the structure. You also get to delve into the products with their fundamentals and technical. It may seem like a steep learning curve however no one is expecting anything from you. I really enjoyed this aspect of the internship and feel like there is a great advantage to a global bank like Citi.

My rotations were split over two floors. Each floor / desk has a different culture and atmosphere. Generally the atmosphere was lively and active, never too loud but it wasn't silent which would have made things uncomfortable.

HR did a very good job at organising the whole thing. Lots of networking events, shadowing, trading game etc. I felt like we received our desks allocations a bit late however.

We had a training week in the first week which was very useful. They gave us a overview of each product in detail. We had several senior speakers come and give us a talk about their personal experience at Citi, which was really useful and felt like the bank had really invested in us.

Depending on feedback. If I perform well, I will be given a offer to join the rotational grad scheme the year after I graduate.

Thursday's + Friday's are the big nights for interns in banking. There are lots of local bars and restaurants around in Canary Wharf, this was very useful for after work. Interns Due to the finishing times of each desk, many interns we're often too tired to socialise after work. Instead it is best to organise coffee's and lunches with these friends. Colleagues Many of the Juniors on the desk invited me along to drinks which was very nice to socialise outside of the office.

London is very expensive ... no surprise. However Big Easy nearby had a good happy hour which was affordable. You are paid very well as a intern at Citi so money is never a worry.

Canary Wharf is mainly a after-work drink kinda place. If you wanted to go out you have to travel.

There is a gym downstairs which we we're given cheaper fees for.