A welcoming culture where you can take real ownership – Hear it from our Markets interns

Matyáš and Sofie are two of the five talented summer interns who have joined us at Nordea’s trading floor in Copenhagen – in Market Risk Access Channels and FX Business Technology, respectively. They’re here to gain hands-on experience and challenge themselves - and they've come to the right place. 

Two weeks in, they’ve got their hands full, building an internal market risk analysis platform and diving into hedging and optimisation of processes and much more – not to mention the social activities, involving games, cosy dinners and fun. 

Read all about it in this blog by Matyáš and Sofie.

Matyáš Horák – intern in Market Risk Access Channels

Currently, Master of Science student in Advanced Economics and Finance at CBS in Copenhagen. I have a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance at Charles University in Prague, and did an exchange semester at Bocconi University in Milan. 

Why did you apply for a summer internship at Nordea Markets, LC&I?

I hope to apply the knowledge I have gained through my studies of financial markets, derivatives, and risk management to real-world challenges. I am particularly interested in understanding how a bank manages its capital requirements in practice; the types of positions it takes and how different securities are used across its operations. I also hope to identify the areas where I can have the greatest impact in the future.

With Nordea being the largest bank in Scandinavia, and its trading floor covers all the Nordic markets, it felt like the ideal place to gain exposure to a broad range of products, markets and geographies while benefiting from exceptional learning opportunities. Moreover, Nordea has a very welcoming culture that promotes learning and Markets is no exception. I find it exciting to work in an environment where you can be yourself, ask any questions that pop into your head and take real ownership of your work.

What’s the first weeks been like? 

I’ve joined the Market Risk Access Channels team within Quant & Analytics. I started out with a series of training and onboarding sessions covering regulatory aspects, the main risk measures and the tools utilized throughout Nordea. I’ve also enjoyed learning how to use Bloomberg, and other internal market analysis tools. 

Over the eight-week internship, I will, among other things, be working on a project together with my fellow intern, Layla, where we’ll build a new tool for an internal market risk analysis platform. The project requires us to talk with different stakeholders, gather and consolidate information and use different software and techniques to develop the tool itself. 

The first weeks have also involved several social activities, arranged for us inters – like we’ve played pétanque, gone out for pizza and it’s been fun to hang out with the other interns. 

The other interns are great people and it is very refreshing to hear their journeys and stories since the five us have very different backgrounds. I heard there is much more social events planned for us during the summer, which is a great supplement to the day-to-day work. 

It's all about collaboration

The working culture is always different from place to place. Here at Nordea Markets, it’s all about collaboration, and being a team player really goes a long way. People are open, and it’s great to have the chance to talk to different stakeholders spanning software developers, controllers and everyday users.

There are so many different teams at Nordea Markets – the structure can be difficult to grasp at first. So, it’s been interesting and useful to get to know how each team contributes. My team acts as a bridge between technology and business operations, requiring a balance of quantitative and qualitative skills. I think the unique mix of skills enable my team to develop the tools they do.

So, it’s been a great start and I really look forward to the next weeks.

Sofie Melander – intern in FX Business Technology

Master of Science student in Engineering Mathematics at Lund University, Sweden.

I first heard about this internship through Nordea's Women's Finance Insight Programme which I participated in earlier in this year, and learned about different areas of the bank and met people from various teams. It was a great experience and I was especially impressed by the people and the culture at Nordea. Everyone was very welcoming and they spoke enthusiastically about their experiences, which left me with a positive impression and made me apply for the Summer Internship in Nordea Markets. 

Super interesting

The first two weeks have been great. There has been a lot of new information to take in, and I've already learned so much. As intern in FX Business Technology, I'm currently working on a project together with the Quant Developer team which is super interesting. More specifically, I'm looking at how we hedge certain trades and whether there are opportunities to optimize the current approach. It's been a great way to apply analytical thinking while learning about the FX market. 

Besides the work itself, we've also had several social activities with the other interns, including playing fun games like boules and Mölkky and enjoying dinners together. It's been great to get to know the other interns and hear about the projects they're working on.

One of my biggest takeaways, so far, is the importance of asking questions and staying curious. One thing that has surprised me is how approachable and willing to help everyone has been, regardless of their role or seniority. Before starting, I expected people to be busy and thought it might be difficult to ask questions, but it has been the complete opposite. Everyone I've met here has been so welcoming and supportive. People have taken the time to explain concepts, introduce me to their work, share knowledge and make me feel included. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming blog with Sofie and Matyas' fellow interns, Elena, Tobias and Layla.