Being part of a small intake of students studying Japanese at Oxford, a career in banking wasn’t really the standard choice among my peers – most wanted to translate manga or find a creative role overseas.
However, my interest had been sparked by a schools programme at JP Morgan when I was 17 and from there I took part in a range of insight days through which a career in Banking increasingly felt like a good fit for me. I liked how the people I met seemed smart and driven, while still being friendly and approachable, and wanted to be a part of that environment.
I first learned the ropes as a Market Risk intern at MUFG Securities in 2015. There were loads of opportunities to meet people from all over the firm, and a number of the people I met at this time have gone on to be an immense support for me in my career ever since. I have now been working at MUFG for nearly 3 years in Enterprise Risk Management. My day to day role is really varied, involving areas such model backtesting, EUC design, risk appetite monitoring and recovery planning. I really like the combination of quantitative and qualitative skills my role involves, and how I get a lot more exposure to the key issues considered by the bank’s management than I would have expected at such an early stage in my career.