Corporate Banking

I chose to pursue business since it aligned with my interests in high school. As many high school students, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I “grew up”. I knew that I enjoyed math, different forms of analysis and presenting/public speaking. I thought a broad business program would align with my strengths but still allow me the opportunity to try new things before choosing a specialization. I chose Queen’s since it had two years of general courses which ranged from accounting, finance, marketing and economics. In high school, I had the opportunity to participate in QLEAD, which was a conference for grade 12 students held at Queen’s Commerce. Through this program I was able to get a better sense of the culture and after attending, I was dead set on Queen’s and specifically the commerce program.

The first two years at Queen’s are general and going into university I had no idea which strand (accounting, finance, marketing, consulting being the main four) I would go into. As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed math and had strong social/presenting skills. For me, the largest turning point was after my second year summer internship, which I describe below, where I learned about the career I wanted to pursue.

After my second year of university, I was a business analyst for BMO falling under the technology arm. Although I really enjoyed my experience, that summer was a turning point for me. Through different intern days I was able to network with various people who fall under capital markets, specifically investment and corporate banking. I knew from those information sessions that I wanted to be client facing and utilize more of the financial analysis skills I had begun to develop at Queen’s Commerce. In third year, I recruited solely for positions in investment banking and was able to get a summer internship at National Bank in their mining investment banking team.

My current role is a corporate banking analyst in the global mining and forestry industry at CIBC. My role is large scale corporate lending, basically lending money to the largest international mining/forestry clients. This debt can be in various forms to suit different needs. We work with our clients to ensure they have sufficient liquidity to fund and grow their businesses or fund acquisitions. My typical day always changes, but my work is largely comprised of three pillars. These are 1) client management in which I help my colleague, the relationship manager, to create pitches and talk to our clients, 2) engaging with our risk and business partners to evaluate the potential risk/reward of the transaction, and 3) seeking new clients and evaluating different opportunities available.

Be open to careers and professions that you don’t know anything about! Both of my parents are engineers and I knew nothing about finance and had no exposure to it growing up. Always be curious to learn more about the industry and don’t be intimidated by people who may know more than you at the onset.