Sondre Jentoft (23)
This fall, I will commence the final year in my master of science degree in Industrial Economics and Technology Management at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). During my time in Trondheim, I have specialised in industrial engineering and finance.
With its rotational structure, this internship is a unique opportunity to get familiar with the several different investment bank related functions, as you get introduced to investment banking, Equity Research, the various trading floor functions, and banking for large corporates and institutions. As the largest bank in the Nordics, the opportunity to experience the full suite of the product offerings and asset classes is nothing short of unique. For me, this was a key differentiator versus the other internship programs available within finance – and I am truly impressed by this programme.
Steep learning curve
I have spent six weeks within the Investment Banking, Corporate Finance division. Due to maintained high market activity levels through the summer, the learning curve these past few weeks has been steep. I have participated on active deals and pitches, prepared discussion materials, and other ad hoc tasks. I have received a great deal of responsibility, which has required the application of both commercial and financial acumen.
Going forward, I will spend two weeks on the FX desk, before spending the ultimate two weeks in the International Shipping department.
Summer Academy and social get-togethers
Another unique offering to interns here includes participation in Nordea’s Summer Academy. Every Thursday, a senior within LC&I presents their department, their function within the bank,
Peter August Anker (26)
I completed my bachelor’s degree, majoring in economics, at Wesleyan University in the US. I then worked in Boston in the renewables division for a North American power development company. I am currently embarking on an MBA degree at London Business School (LBS), with one year left to completion.
I applied for the internship at Nordea for its strong foothold as the largest bank in the Nordics, and it fits well with my current MBA studies at LBS. I also found it unique and appealing that the internship in Large Corporates & Institutions (LC&I) allows interns to rotate between desks. Furthermore, I know a couple of people at Nordea who highlighted a supportive and collaborative social environment with strong focus on operational excellence – which I’ve learned is very true.
William Ravn (23)
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from BI Norwegian Business School. This autumn, I am starting my one-year Master’s degree in Finance & Accounting at Imperial College Business School in London.
My journey with Nordea started in January, working as investment banking intern in the Debt Capital Markets (DCM) team which focuses on origination and execution of bonds for large corporate clients. I was offered the opportunity to join this summer internship programme when my internship in DCM ended in June. This way, I got the unique opportunity to explore other areas within finance, which has been exceptional so far. During my summer internship I will rotate across three teams: Equity Research, FIG (Financial Institutions) and Corporate Finance.
Building database, assisting on IPO and IoC
In my first four weeks here, I have worked in the Equity Research team, which among other things, involved building a complete database on market data for Nordic banks, from scratch. It required searching for monthly or quarterly data dating back ~20 years across the Nordics, and summarizing the data in charts to be used in future Equity Research reports. I learned a lot about the current state of the Nordic bank market, and just how difficult it is to obtain the “perfect dataset”.
Early on, I was simultaneously assigned to an urgent project regarding the potential Initial Public Offering (IPO) of a Nordic company. Here, I assisted the Head of Nordic Research in preparing material to be used in a meeting with the company, as Equity Research plays a vital role in marketing the investment case during the IPO, which I learned a lot about during the process.
Assessing investment cases
Lastly, I assisted in writing an Initiation of Coverage report (IoC), which is when Nordea initiates a rating recommendation (Buy/Hold/Sell) for a company listed on a stock exchange. The task involved diving deep into the company’s business plan, history, market position and much more, before starting to structure and write the report itself. The finished product will be 50+ pages giving a detailed introduction to the company along with Nordea Equity Research’s estimates. I learned how to assess a given investment case, which involves understanding the key market, value proposition and the competitive landscape.
Open and approachable
I have been very impressed with how open and approachable people are across the various teams. Whether I am talking with someone in my current team or in a different team, people gladly take time out of their busy day to talk to you or explain what areas they are working in.
It's also great to meet up with the other interns for lunch or at the after-work activities arranged for us, and hear about their experiences and learnings in other parts of LC&I.
