Susanna Carlini completed an internship at RBS in their Corporate & Institutional Banking division. She was drawn to RBS because of their structured internship program with two rotations within the same division. During her internship, she gained experience in both the Corporate Advisory and Debt Capital Markets desks. She enjoyed the training programs and collaborative culture at RBS. Following her internship, her next steps will be a graduate role and then an analyst position at a specific desk.

1. Case Study - Susanna Carlini
Liability Management, Corporate & Institutional Banking - studied at ESCP Europe (Master in Management)
I was drawn to an internship at RBS because of the structure of the programme, with two rotations within the same
division, and the very positive feedback that I received from people who had previously joined. I selected RBS over
other banks because the focus on Capital Markets within Investment Banking, which is my area of interest.
I chose to work in Capital Markets because I think this doesn’t put in place conflicts of interest that may exist in other
areas of Investment Banking. In Capital Markets, banks are likely to recommend the best solution for the client
notwithstanding the banks revenues on the transaction itself.
My business area is within the private side and divided between Corporate & Institutional Banking (C&IB) and
Commercial & Private banking (CPB). Corporate Advisory, which is in CPB, is characterised by a focus on the overall
strategy of a company and strategic choices in terms of acquisitions and capital requirements. The preparation for a
meeting can last up to more than one week. C&IB is much closer to the market, the desk is noisier, with people on the
phone, live updates etc. Interaction between one team and another occurs very often. It is really fast paced and, as an
example, a pitch preparation can last less than one day. I speak Italian, English and French and have been using
all three languages to communicate with colleagues. More senior people in large teams, such as DCM and
Corporate Advisory use their language skills every day to communicate with clients and provide them with
updates on market conditions.
At RBS, both Interns and Graduates are encouraged to rotate within the bank to gather an overall learning and
understanding of the whole division before specialising in one specific desk. This helps with getting to know people
within the bank from different business areas and allows for some insights on every desk, allowing for greater
collaboration.
One of the most valuable things I have learned on my programme is how to network with a range of people. This is
key to identifying preference set for the second rotation of the internship. I have also learned how to select the news to
keep myself up to date without spending the whole day reading, how in general a Debt Capital Markets transaction is
structured and I have gained some important specific knowledge on each of the two desks I have been rotating on.
What do I enjoy most about my role? The great training programs offered to interns and the fact that everybody at
every level has always been happy to help and share some of his / her knowledge or just grab a cup of coffee. I have
been surprised by the willingness of colleagues to get to know interns and share some of their knowledge with them.
The working environment is very diverse and inclusive, which can be felt in every day interactions between people
within RBS. The culture is strong and focused on four values: serving customers, working together, doing the right
thing and thinking long term. Senior management often refers to one or several of these values when implementing a
new initiative across the bank.
The role of the intern is first of all to learn, and people from the business make sure that happens. From organised
training sessions to individual insights, the focus on letting interns know what the business is about before they start
working is great. According to the desk the intern is in he / she gets given short or long projects to work on, on which
the feedback is given almost immediately after the delivery.
The next step for me is a Graduate role, then an analyst at a specific desk. I think this is a much bigger evolution
compared to the path in other banks since during the Graduate Programme graduates undergo four rotations, learning
different things in every desk and performing different tasks. This gives a way more widespread knowledge and
understanding, applicable to way more areas than the specific knowledge acquired in one desk.
To find out more about Corporate & Institutional Banking and to apply, visit:
yourpassionyourpotential.rbs.com/pages/corporate-and-institutional-banking