Strategy and Performance Intern Review

The internship was a good experience of the day-to-day life of Corporate Banking. I was able to visit numerous teams from different parts of the Bank and visit various offices. I and three other interns were given the opportunity to meet with the Executive Director, Head of UK Banking, [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].

My colleagues did not treat me as a temporary employee, I was treated as a permanent member of staff and given tasks with responsibility and of importance. My colleagues were genuinely nice people and supported me throughout the internship, letting me visit teams I was interested in working in and to broaden my knowledge of the Bank.

My line manager was supportive and gave me feedback throughout the internship however the 'weekly one-to-ones' did not occur. I had two one-to-ones with my line manager during my internship and I think this was similar to many other interns. My line manager set me up with meetings in parts of the Bank that I was interested in (Global Banking Markets, Wealth Management, other Corporate roles) and I also attended meetings and conference calls with them.

For the first three weeks at the start of my internship there was another intern in the same team as me. During that time period, I was not very busy on a daily basis and found myself getting fairly bored. Once the other intern had finished their placement, I had a lot more jobs given to me with more responsibility. Towards the end of my placement, I was given less tasks and the last two weeks I was not particularly busy.

I was given some tasks with responsibility and some with little responsibility. I was responsible for drafting various presentations for important people within the Bank and attended important Board meetings. I met with the Executive Director, Head of UK Banking which I feel held a lot of responsibility and met various other people of importance. On a weekly basis, I sent out a forecast to people within the Bank outlining the current Balance Sheet and New Facilities for the month and forecasts for the end of the month.

The financial terminology I have become familiar with will assist me in my final year of university with my finance modules. My Microsoft Word and PowerPoint will assist me in the future when using this software for university and my future. The interpersonal skills I have learnt will help me interact with business people in my future career.

My office had a fairly relaxed atmosphere as it was quite small however when going to other offices, that were larger, the atmosphere was much more formal. The people that I worked with were extremely helpful and friendly so I was not scared to ask questions or ask for advice.

This is the area with the most scope for improvement. I do not agree with two interns working alongside each other in such a small team (4 full time employees) as there was not enough work for two interns to complete. A lot of my colleagues did not have a great understanding of the internship and its relation to the graduate role and did not see the importance of the weekly one-to-ones which would have been extremely helpful as a form of guidance. We were all assigned a buddy but there was no structure to the interaction with your buddy so the majority of interns have very little contact with them. My buddy arranged to meet me three times but did not turn up for one of them!

Mandatory training modules were completed within the first week of your internship which included: data protection and information security, fraud awareness, health and safety, anti-bribery, fighting financial crime, diversity and inclusion, fire safety and dealing with vulnerable customers. These were extremely tedious but did give a slight insight into working in a Bank and are necessary.

At the end of the internship, you are told within four weeks if you have been offered a placement on the graduate scheme. The graduate scheme is a two year programme with four, six month rotations. Some of the rotations are compulsory and some you have a bit more choice. The main deterrent to the graduate role is the two compulsory rotations in commercial banking and branch roles. The salary is fairly weak in comparison to competitors but the Bank is a nice place to work and the rotation based placement may be worth it depending on personal preference.

There was not a great social scene amongst the interns however there were two events arranged by some interns which a few attended. The social scene amongst colleagues was slightly better with fairly regular lunches and after-work drinks etc. There could be an improvement in the social scene however it is down to personal preference and my travel was very long so I missed out on a few events.

I had to pay £1400 to commute from my home to London which is fairly expensive however the pay covers it but you have to pay the fee upfront so if you do not have the funds to pay for it upfront, you would struggle to afford to actually take part in the internship! The places to go out for lunch/dinner/coffee/drinks are fairly standard pricing for London.

The nightlife was okay however I did not go out much as my travel was very long so I missed out on a few events. The office I worked in was very small so there was not a lot going on after work however if you were placed in a larger office, you would have had more opportunities.

The activities outside work were fairly non-existent. I did not go out much after work as my travel was very long so I missed out on a few events. The office I worked in was very small so there was not a lot going on after work however if you were placed in a larger office, you would have had more opportunities.