(FFP #1) It’s something we look very much forward to every year in the spring. And now, it’s happening, they’re finally here! It’s been a great joy to welcome a new group of talented students, equally excited as we are, to join our Future Finance Professional (FFP) programme. This year, we’re pleased to have onboarded 22 interns with diverse backgrounds, skills and ambitions matching their various positions. And they’re off to a good start.
Three weeks into the FFP programme, we’ve met some of the FFP interns to see how they’ve settled in, and hear about their first impressions, job tasks, let alone their background and expectations.
Meet Julia, Mikael, Niina and Viola who work in different teams at the vibrant and high-paced trading floor in Helsinki. Read their blog – the first in a series – and hear about an ‘intimidating place’, steep learning curves, hands-on responsibility, dealing rights, and why the programme exceeds expectations.
I'm currently pursuing a master's degree in Finance with some economics and sustainable business on the side at the Turku School of Economics. For now, I'm based in Helsinki for work as well as to enjoy the summer.
I’ve joined Nordea Markets’ FFP programme as a part of the FX Sales team (Finland). I’ve had a bit more than three weeks to familiarise with the team, and my work duties as an assistant sales manager for the summer. My work tasks include foreign currency (FX) dealing, in FX Spot as well as through FX derivatives, such as forward contracts and swaps.
Additionally, I participate in the commercial and municipal paper markets as an intermediate between issuers and customers. I have some previous work experience on these areas, but already during my first weeks at Nordea Markets, I’ve learned so much more, which further supports my development as a future finance professional! 😉
Working on the trading floor in Helsinki is truly something different from what a traditional work space looks like for many people. We are about 100 people seated here in a huge kind of hall, and from an ‘outsider’ it can be quite an intimidating place to find yourself on the your day. For a newbie, the constant conversation around you can also seem distracting to your work.
However, it doesn’t take long before you really learn to appreciate this special little ecosystem on the trading floor; the driving attitude towards work among the people surrounding you is truly inspiring and pushes you to give your best, every day. Nonetheless, the overall atmosphere here is lively and cheerful. It encourages, as well as enables, people to work together and enables the sharing of knowledge to move effortlessly. Once you get a hang of the flow, the buzz at the trading floor is really an asset.
I’m a master’s student at LUT business school with a major in strategic finance and business analytics – though, I just submitted my thesis and am about to graduate.
I work as Assistant Sales Manager in the Nordea Markets Derivatives Coverage team (Finland), providing customised hedging solutions for customers in terms of interest rate risk. We are working with different derivative products, going from swaps to swaption, yet more complex product structures can be created by combining different products to meet our clients’ needs. The interest rate environment has become more essential than it has been in the last decade, making it especially interesting to work in this team.
Already in the recruiting phase to join the FFP programme, we were promised a steep learning curve, and that promise has indeed been delivered. The induction started straight after our individual work stations were set, and within a month I passed my derivatives exam, gaining dealing rights. Although I’m handling the basics now, there is so much more to learn.
We are strongly backed and encouraged to keep developing our understanding of the financial markets and the banking business, and the trading floor offers a supporting atmosphere inviting you to approach anybody with questions.
In the fall I´ll start my last year of MSc Accounting studies at the University of Oulu. I have worked in Nordea over two years now and gained a lot of valuable experience from different business areas.
I work as assistant sales manager in the Nordea Markets Scalable Sales & Concepts team in Finland. Our team drives one-to-many sales and development of standard embedded interest rate hedging products to the wide range of retail customers from households to SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises).
As a FFP trainee in the Scalable Sales & Concepts team, I´ve been involved in different kind of projects all the way from process and product development to the updating of training and support materials for embedded hedging products. I´ve also been testing and providing feedback on various advisory tools which are developed and maintained in e-Trading. Moreover, I’ve participated in the process of monitoring interest rate market movements and adjusting pricing.
The atmosphere and environment at the trading floor is supportive, fun and ambitious. I’ve already got a lot of responsibility in my everyday work, and it makes me feel as a valued employee and co-worker.
I started my career journey at Nordea in the summer of the freshman year. Since then, I´ve been working in three different roles in the bank. It is easy to change between teams and units within Nordea, and people are encouraged to go for a job rotation. Nordea employees have great development possibilities and with it many career opportunities.
I am currently finishing my studies in Finance and Business at the University of Edinburgh. I have already been able to put theoretical skills and learnings from university into practice at Nordea, although these first weeks on the trading floor have taught me loads as well.
As FFP intern in the Fixed Income Sales team Finland, I am working with both government and corporate bonds, which provides a comprehensive overview of the bond market. It also offers a steep learning curve as I am exposed to several various areas in the fixed income field. Already during these first weeks of the FFP internship, I have been able to see different cases and to work with actual deals. I really like how much responsibility and on-hands work I have been delegated from the start, which has kept me busy and made time pass by very quickly.
The atmosphere on the trading floor is dynamic and fast-paced. The Fixed Income team is great, and the people are very skilled and they have made me feel welcomed from day one. In addition to enjoying my daily tasks and working with my team, the time spent with the other FFPs at lunches or after-work events, has also been great.
So far, the FFP programme has exceeded my expectations and I am sure this summer will be a great experience as I will gain professional expertise while making connections with other likeminded people within the financial field.
Stay tuned for the next blog in our FFP series featuring the students' lives with us, zooming in on work tasks, challenges and social events throughout the summer.
Meanwhile, have a look at some of the blogs by our FFPs in 2022:
Nordea Markets LC&I (Large Corporates & Institutions) is the leading international capital operator and investment banking partner in the Nordic region. Let some of our student interns, graduates as well as experienced professionals explain it to you; how it works, what we do, and about the many career opportunities we can offer you.
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Future Finance Professional
Finland