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Thomas appreciates the very approachable nature of HSBC's senior management which is consequently vital to his new career's growth.

Thomas

Global Markets
Associate

Read Thomas' story

The highlight of my experience at HSBC has been being a part of the desk that's taking part in quantitative easing. This is a pretty unprecedented piece of monetary policy that's been going on in the last year or two. We've had two rounds of quantitative easing now and we're just finishing up on the second. Being on the front lines of that has been really exciting: seeing how the market reacts to the Federal Reserve coming in and buying securities. It's really exciting to be there; it's been an exceptional experience.

I think what has surprised me most about the organisation is how accessible very senior people are here. There's a managing director sitting a couple of seats from me and any time I have a question I'm able to feel comfortable to go ahead and ask him a question. That's very nice to have. I've also had the opportunity to have lunch with the CEO of the Global Markets business in the US. So, my colleagues in the Graduate Development team do a great job of giving me opportunities to network with very senior people within the organisation.

I chose the US Treasury Trading Desk because it was really exciting and fast-paced. All the news headlines, economic data, any new monetary policy really drives our market and makes it exciting, and can move it very quickly. I also really enjoy the group I work in. I got to know them before joining and if you're going to spend 12 hours a day with the group you need to like them and enjoy being there, and I really do. It's a fun environment.

Recently I started trading the short end of the zero-coupon curve. It's been a really exciting thing to be able to buy and sell, actually take on buying and selling securities in the market – you get pretty immediate feedback on how the market moves and for a newcomer that was really exciting to see how your trades do.

At HSBC I would like to achieve a couple of things: in the short-term I would like to get my own trading book so I would have my own risk and be able to directly contribute to the desk's profit and loss – hopefully profit. And secondly, in the longer-term I would like to develop into a management role where I can run a desk or a group.

I think in five years the investment banking industry will see continued resources devoted to emerging markets in Latin America and Asia. I think we'll see a more highly regulated banking environment, so more emphasis on a strong balance sheet. And I think both of those things HSBC has really going for it: a tremendous franchise in emerging markets and a very strong balance sheet. So it should really be able to take advantage of opportunities in the next five years.

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