Summer Internship At RBS | Rohan Kamath | Summer Saga 2020

After graduating as a computer engineer, I worked as a technology analyst at one of the largest banks in the world. It was during this 2-year stint that I found my interest in the banking and financial world. When I started my MBA, it was very clear to me that finance would be one of my focus areas and I’d like to pursue a career in banking. When I learned that RBS was going to recruit summer interns from my campus, I was very excited and slightly nervous at the same time. The bank offered an 8-week internship in Portfolio Management. I recognized that the role would be perfect for me to learn the credit business of the bank and add to the basic banking concepts I had picked up during my previous job. I applied for the position without any hesitation.

Hailing from a technical background, I was well aware that I was lacking in my finance acumen as compared to my peers. However, I did not let this dishearten me and I started preparing for the interview well in advance. It was at this stage, for the very first time, that I experienced the crucial “peer-learning” aspect of an MBA. I approached my peers at IIM Rohtak, and they were more than happy to get me up to speed with basic finance concepts. I studied the job description thoroughly and prepared for every type of question I thought may come my way during the interview.

The selection process consisted of CV based shortlisting followed by multiple rounds of interviews. We were interviewed by very senior personnel of the bank. We were tested on key concepts as well as practical applications of these concepts. I was asked many personality-based questions and the interviewers also tested my decision-making abilities. After a long and grueling selection process,  I was elated when the results were announced and couldn’t wait to start my internship in April.

However, come April the entire world came to a stand-still as the COVID-19 situation unfolded, and I was worried about how it would affect my opportunity to intern at the bank. However, RBS upheld all of its offers and was quick to devise a completely virtual onboarding process for us. In the beginning, I was very skeptical of how this virtual internship experience would shape up, but the work done by the onboarding team was commendable. With absolutely no hiccups, we had a smooth onboarding process and were assigned our projects for the entire duration. My mentor was at a very senior position in the bank and had many years of experience in the banking domain. He was extremely helpful and took a lot of effort to ensure that I had all the resources I needed to facilitate a fruitful learning experience and work on my projects efficiently.

I worked on two projects during my time at the bank. The first project required me to collect a lot of data related to the credit stewardship process at the bank. This had to be done by interacting with a lot of the portfolio managers in the wider team. At first, I felt this would be a very big challenge due to the remote setting of the internship. However, I found that everyone at RBS was very welcoming and did not hesitate to spend some time interacting with me. Through these interactions, I learned a lot of key banking concepts that were critical to the successful completion of my project. I also used a lot of concepts I learned in the Financial Management course taught in the first year while working on this project.

The second project required me to suggest long-term strategies to increase the operational efficiency of remote working in light of the pandemic. This project gave me a wider perspective of the day-to-day operations of the bank. The project involved a lot of cost-based analysis and critical thinking. Under the guidance of my mentor and the support of many team members, I was able to effectively complete both my projects. During the final week of the internship, I also had the golden opportunity to present my findings and solutions to the senior leadership of the bank. I was glad to see that my presentation was well received and appreciated.

The culture at RBS was very conducive to learning and I felt very welcome at the bank during my short stint there. I am particularly grateful to my mentor and team members who constantly gave me feedback and guidance which helped me grow through my internship journey. To sum up, my internship experience at RBS was truly enriching, full of learning, and has made me better prepared for my career path ahead.