Case studies: Corporate treasurer: Kris

Kris is an assistant dealer in the treasury and money markets division of the Nationwide Building Society. Kris studied economics at Lancaster.

My degree included courses in financial markets and this, together with my interest in maths, encouraged me to explore opportunities in finance. I looked at graduate opportunities in accountancy, banking and large companies, ultimately settling on the Nationwide scheme for treasury trainees. This especially appealed to me because it offered a thorough training across the whole of the treasury function, including back office support and risk management, as well as the dealing room itself.

Treasury is a challenging and dynamic area of the business, providing funding and liquidity for the Nationwide group, as well as managing balance sheet risk and substantial investment portfolios. We deal in a range of financial instruments including deposits, securities and derivatives.

Treasury plays a major role in group projects and liaises with the Treasury and regulators such as the Financial Services Authority and Bank of England.

I am based in the dealing room where I’m responsible for supporting the money market traders and enjoy using my quantitative skills to analyse market data and produce a variety of reports to monitor our funding and collateral positions. In the process, I have gained a great deal of knowledge about how the financial markets operate and an understanding of fixed income products and financial derivatives in particular. There is a certain amount of routine work involved preparing daily reports that I sometimes find a little boring but this is more than compensated for by the fast moving dealing room environment.

It is not all about analysis and number crunching. It is very important to be a good communicator as I have to liaise with colleagues across the whole division. Treasury plays a central role for the group as a whole and we advise and support colleagues in many other areas of Nationwide.

I think my economics degree was useful in helping me prepare for interviews but you don’t necessarily have to study a business or finance related subject. My colleagues come from a variety of non-relevant disciplines and graduates from both the humanities and sciences are represented in the dealing room.

If I were to offer any advice to those interested in a career in finance it would be to know in which field you want to work and be able to justify your choice. Also make sure you apply early! Many employers operate on a first come, first served basis.

I really enjoy the career I have chosen. It utilises all my talents and I love the buzz of the dealing room and the constantly changing financial markets. I hope to move on to a full trading role within the Nationwide treasury in due course.