Ashwini Shetty has pursued her Bachelors in Banking and Insurance from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. Post her graduation, she shifted to Bangalore to work as an Analyst at Northern Trust Corporation for 2 years. After pursuing her PGDM(BKFS) from T.A. Pai Management Institute in Manipal, she joined HSBC as an Analyst in Regulatory Compliance.
What was the selection procedure? How did you get this job?
I applied for this role at HSBC through campus placements. The first round consisted of an online test that had about 60 questions (multiple choice based questions with negative marking). Based on the scores of this test, they shortlisted a few candidates for the next rounds. The second round included an interview with a manager who asked questions related to finance subjects, like derivatives and capital markets. The last round was with a senior-level manager who asked some technical questions related to capital markets and broader finance along with some IQ- based questions. After an internal discussion, they considered me for this opportunity.
What is your title and responsibility at your job? What is your day-to-day work?
My title at HSBC is Analyst. My job mainly includes keeping a check on whether HSBC is complying with their reporting obligations in European and US markets. HSBC deals with multiple capital market transactions which creates multiple obligations with different regulators. All reporting is through automated systems, that is when a trader of HSBC initiates a transaction, it gets reported automatically. Sometimes due to technical glitches such as internal application issues, regulators' portal servers being down etc., the reports do not go through in time. My job is to make sure that the reports are sent again to meet the regulatory obligations. We also perform exception management and reconciliations to make sure everything has been reported and if anything is missed, it is reported within the stipulated time.
What are some of the challenges that you faced? How did you overcome them?
There were different stakeholders involved in the process. At times, figuring out whom to reach out to in case of specific problems was confusing. The regulator queries had a timeline, sometimes we had to solve queries in a day’s time. This would get challenging especially if the system wasn’t working properly, approvals do not come on time or stakeholders were unavailable. So, we had to reach out to regulators for an extension of the deadline and find the next best solution to get the problems solved in time.
What are some of the essential skills needed for this role?
One should have a decent knowledge of derivatives and capital markets, this helps in understanding the financial products and different reporting guidelines throughout the globe. The majority of reports are made using Microsoft Excel, so a good understanding of its features is important. A lot of data is involved in this process, so mastering a skill like Python, VBA, Tableau or any other data processing language would add great value. Good communication skills are a must while interacting with various stakeholders (internal as well as external).
How was your overall experience working with HSBC?
My overall experience has been great as I got to interact with several people from across the world. I am not only learning various skills from them but also about their culture, and their lifestyle. Since it’s a global team, I have had the opportunity to learn the best practices required for higher productivity.
Do you think internships are important for students? Why?
Yes, internships are extremely important. I did internships when I was graduating from college as well as during my MBA. Internships give any individual a nice exposure to how the corporates work and how the things we have studied come into play. It gives you a sense of what to improve on, how things work practically, what are some of the skills needed etc so that by the time you have a full-time job you have an idea of how to go about it.
What advice would you like to give students/freshers?
Don’t get disheartened if you don’t get a job immediately after graduation. Do not have very high expectations from your first job, as it is more about the learning curve at that point in time. If you don’t find the things you’re looking for in a job, you could always quit and find another based on your requirements.