Corporate Banking Easter Intern Review

The insight week is enjoyable because you are amongst like-minded people who are happy to discuss current banking/economy issues and have a well-informed view. The Corporate Banking programme allows for job shadowing in multiple areas of the Corporate Bank therefore it was highly enjoyable to gain a wholistic

The employees treat the Easter interns with respect, knowing we have question after question about the bank and their jobs. No question is too silly, and every question gets a thorough answer.

For our presentation exercises we were given guidance from recent graduates who watched over each group and provided advice that really helped.

Coincidently, I gained an insight into Large Corporate Coverage when my University Assignment (which is due soon) is based on Relationship Management for Corporates. I now have practical experience and examples to bring the theory to life.

The programme was very well structured with the objectives of giving us a well-rounded job shadowing experience, skill sessions, group talks/lectures aswell as some networking opportunities.

The atmosphere was great, all employees were friendly and everybody wishes to speak to the next generation about what they do and what they have learnt from the financial crisis.

The investment in young people that RBS give speaks for itself when you consider they give first-year university students one weeks access to corporate offices, senior managers and recent graduates. This costs time and money but the investment pays off in terms of recruitment for internships and graduate positions.

When given the opportunity to speak to employees, i always asked questions about working conditions at RBS. Working hours, day-to-day activities, manager meetings, national relocation and holiday entitlement were some of the topics discussed.

So obviously RBS has had a culture change in the past few years. The Corporate Banking Marketplace excercise gave us an opportunity to speak to employees in the Chief Operating Office who are responsible for encouraging change across the organisation. This is where I asked questions about the previous culture, the new culture and how far along the proposed changes have they come so far.

I live in London so was not paid or reimbursed expenses. People who lived outside the M25 area were put into 4* Hotel next to the RBS main office in Bishopsgate, and were reimbursed food expenses.

As mentioned previously, the whole programme is structured in a way to engage with as many employees of different ranks as possible. I enjoyed the networking events and met new people who are willing to stay in contact through linkedin and Email.

This one is down to the students to organise for themselves, and boy did we !

I learnt that many employees are involved in charity work and are sometimes given time-allowances to engage in such activities. It's worth a mention that Chris Sullivan (head of Corporate Banking) spends some of his out-of-office time promoting equality and diversity in the workplace.

Absolutely, it's a great stepping-stone to an internship if you can demonstrate the right competencies.