Area of work

Financial Institutions Group (FIG), Coverage

Studied

Psychology, University of East London

Joined

2005

Working in

London

I deal with specialist insurance matters throughout the business and specifically look after insurance clients. Within FIG we interact with the different business lines almost as a sounding board; we provide high level contacts and open doors for other areas of the business. I used to work at a ratings agency where I analysed insurance companies and someone suggested to me that I switch to investment banking. I looked into it and saw that I'd be able to use a lot of my previous experience, but also thought it would be a far more exciting environment than working in the insurance industry, which it has proved to be.

I didn't know much about banking when I started, so I've been learning a lot about bonds and equity derivatives and other specialised investment banking products. I like the fact that BNP Paribas valued the experience I had in a specific area and thought it outweighed any experience that I lacked. I'm now deeply involved in the business in many different ways. I often work with Corporate Finance, and Debt Capital Markets (DCM) and Structured Finance. We also work with Capital Markets Structuring – Insurance Solutions their main role is to provide bespoke solutions and capital optimisation. Capital optimisation is where you analyse the balance sheet, capital structure and solvency levels of clients, and then advise them on the best way to structure their capital or use of Insurance Linked Securities. They also want to know what the cost will be, the impact on their solvency levels and the impact it's likely to have on their credit ratings as well.

I really enjoy being involved in projects with different business lines within BNP Paribas. I often work on big M&A pitches with DCM or Corporate Finance. I now have a small portfolio of clients for which I have coverage responsibility. I specialise in UK clients and companies, so my opportunities for travel are limited..  London is such a big centre for finance and insurance I still have a lot of variety in my work, so it suits me well.

I like the culture here a lot - it's very open and supportive and there's a huge amount of trust and respect. While there's pressure to get things done, it's not over-pressurised, so it's quite a relaxed atmosphere. You're given a role to do, support and resources, and then you're expected to work out the best way to get things done. There's a huge amount of interaction with other business lines, not just the flow business but the structuring side as well. It really keeps things interesting because each structuring project can be so different to the one before. We're really not a hire and fire type of organisation, if you want a long-term career in investment banking and want to go far, then it's a good place to be.

The second day I was here, I had to present a credit file which had gone through difficulties to the highest level credit committee, and justify the increase in credit lines; explain why it was a better prospect now than it was previously. It would seem like I was thrown in the deep end, but really they did it because they trusted me and they saw that I could handle it, and they were right.