I am currently pursuing a double Master’s degree in Strategic Finance & Analytics and Industrial Engineering at LUT-University. I am working as an assistant controller in MTFC also known as middle office in a team called Credit Risk Control. Our team is responsible for reporting and analysing the counterparty credit risk meaning the risk when counterparties fail to fulfil their financial commitments to Nordea.
My daily work consists of performing weekly and daily controls for counterparty credit risk such as reporting and analysing various limits, changes in credit loss distributions and also participating in agreement processes. During the holiday season, I was also able to put my technical skills into use, as I programmed and developed automated tools and processes for our team with Python, SQL and Alteryx Designer.
During my first three months at Nordea, I have learned so many things, in particular about derivatives and risk calculation methods which are not covered at university courses. I think the best things about the FFP trainee programme are the many interesting and challenging tasks, not to mention having the best colleagues and fellow FFPs.
Best things about the FFP internship
The three of us got together to reflect on our FFP experience so far, and we’ve tried to summarise how the summer has been for us here, in a hectic world of finance.
Throughout our three months at Nordea, we have been trusted with a lot of responsibility and gain new knowledge on a daily basis. Expectations are high but we can always rely on our team members to help and support us when needed. We think that the FFP internship is an unique way to start a career within finance, and positions in the middle office offer excellent opportunities to combine technical skills and business.
During our internship, we have been able to utilize many skills learned from the university and previous jobs. Those experiences have helped us to leverage e.g. our coding skills in the current positions, helping us to move on to more challenging tasks. It is also rewarding and inspiring to see how people from different backgrounds, nationalities and countries are working together towards common goals and targets.
Although many of this year’s FFPs have been working remotely due to the covid-19 pandemic, we still had the chance to get together with all the FFPs a few times during the summer. Our so-called FFP Fun Managers managed to arrange a couple of social events for us, which among others included beach Olympics and a FFP custom made “The Apprentice” competition.
Conclusively, we would say that some of the best and instructive things about the FFP program, are: The varying and challenging tasks, the constant support offered from the team, combined with the great atmosphere, and good fun, we have with the fellow FFPs. It just makes any challenging day a good day ;-).
In a nutshell: We highly recommend the FFP summer internship programme. Go for it!
Stay tuned for more blogs by our FFP interns. Meanwhile, why not have a look at some of the previous blogs, like:
“Inspiring work place and amaing …” by Harri, data analyst
“Learning from the best …” by Sanna, research analyst