Private Banking Intern Review

I have really enjoyed my internship at Adam & Company – a private bank within the RBS Group. Throughout my time at the private bank I have had exposure to all the different teams within Adam and Company. This has helped me gain a better understanding of how the bank operates and the service it provides.

I find that despite there being a clear hierarchy of responsibility at Adam & Company everyone is treated equally. Even as an intern I found that my input was being valued and I felt that I could approach any colleague for help irrespective of their position in the private bank.

Throughout my internship I was aligned to a Line Manager. Every week we had arranged hour long one to one sessions where we covered my progress and my goals looking to the future. These one to ones were also a chance to bring up any problems I was having at work. I also received support from the person responsible for the Graduate programmes with fortnightly one to one meetings. My colleagues were also incredibly friendly and if I ever had any issues I always felt comfortable to bring them up.

Due to being tasked with an Intern Project, that spanned the whole length of the internship, if I ever had a free moment I would work on improving my project. Due to being put in rotation of teams I was always busy learning new skills and helping colleagues complete their day-to-day business.

During my internship I was trusted to attend client meetings. I believe that attending these meetings required maturity on my part as the information being discussed was sensitive and of a confidential nature. I was trusted to provide my input and feedback when appropriate. Alongside this, my Intern Project is scheduled to present to group wide line managers, assessors and even members of the executive committee.

This internship has inspired me to put in the long hours of hard work to do well with my studies so that I am able to meet the requirements of a graduate role. If I am unlucky in the selection process for a graduate role I am now motivated to put in the effort with my studies to secure a similar graduate position elsewhere.

Everyone in the office has a good work ethic but alongside everyone being productive there is always a hum of conversation from colleagues asking for advice, a second opinion or some help. Everyone in the Edinburgh office where I am based is incredibly friendly, driven and always makes time to help you if you are in need.

My internship structure was more fluid and accommodating to my commitments than other internships. The internship programme has only been run for a few years at Adam & Company and therefore because of this the organisers really listen to your needs and feedback. If you feel like you want more exposure to a certain area then the organisers refer you to the relevant individuals.

For my private banking internship I underwent three weeks of in-depth training. On top of this when in rotation I spent many days shadowing experts in each area of the bank and learned how they work on a day to day basis. I also attended the Coutts and Adam 24 service for an all day induction which I found really beneficial as I was able to see first hand how the call centre operates so effectively.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship with Adam & Company in Edinburgh. If I were lucky enough to be offered a graduate role I would gladly accept it from this company. I have been really impressed by the how friendly and helpful all the staff are and how driven Adam & Company are to achieving their goals.

Unfortunately in private banking in the RBS group nearly all of the interns are London based. This meant that, because of being based in Edinburgh, I missed nearly all of the private banking social events. However, due to Adam & Company being part of the RBS Group I was able to attend the many events put on by graduates in Edinburgh – these events are well planned and there is great attendance by interns.

I chose to be based in Edinburgh for my summer internship because of the fringe festival taking place at the same time. However this has meant that the cost of accommodation is just as high as London in this period! The cost of socialising is also very pricey – although not quite London prices. Please note that during the fringe festival prices surge and the city becomes inundated with thousands of tourists.

Due to the fringe festival the night life is exemplary due to the thousands of shows available throughout the festival – there really is a show for everyone here. However please note that most good shows are expensive to attend due to the high demand. If you are looking for a standard club night out Edinburgh is not the place to come at this time of year as every club is rammed and expensive.

Within Adam & Company there aren’t many activities available but there are more opportunities available from the wider RBS group. However how much you may gain from these activities are limited as you are only within the RBS group for a short amount of time and a lot of the meetings are monthly. Edinburgh itself has a great selection of activities to choose from.