“For the past 10 weeks, I interned at National Australia Bank (NAB) in the Debt Capital Markets (DCM) team. During the internship, my responsibilities included creating pitchbooks, tracking market data using Bloomberg Terminal, and pricing potential deals for USD RegS/144A, Dim Sums, AUD MTNs and Formosa bonds.

I was very lucky to be involved in a number of live bond issuances in which I was able to put into practice what I had learnt in textbooks. In particular, I was able to enhance my understanding of interest rate and cross-currency swaps which are crucial tools for bond issuances. The internship was an invaluable opportunity for my personal development in giving me the opportunity to refine and advance my knowledge of various bond products and the financial markets more generally.

Technical skills were not the only things that I developed from the internship. I discovered that soft skills are quite often equally important in the workplace and liaising with clients. One of the most important lessons I learnt was to always ask when you are not sure about something, understand it, remember it and try to not ask again. Of course I am not talking about something that you can simply Google. My colleagues at NAB were particularly receptive and helpful in answering all my questions.

Through this internship I also made many friends through social functions. It was not uncommon for my colleagues and me to enjoy a few pints of beers after work where I was able to get to know them on a personal level. I sincerely thank everyone who has helped me during this the internship and I truly believe that NAB is a great company to work for.”