What do you do at BNP Paribas?
I act as the issuing and paying agent for my customers’ financial products. When a company or institution wants to issue a bond, for example, it first contacts a sales representative to define its needs. Then, through another team, they ask mine to issue it on the market and track its evolution throughout its life cycle. As paying agents, we also distribute interest to the bond holders (investors) through another institution, on behalf of the issuing company.
What qualities does it take to do this job?
A flare for detail: you need to issue products with strong technical characteristics.You also need to be a good communicator, so you can interact efficiently with other stakeholders in the issuing process: clearing houses, calculation agents, etc.
You started out as a chemical engineer. How did you transition from pharma to banking?
I was looking for a new challenge. Though I’d never studied finance, the skills I learned in six years of quality control in the pharma sector helped me make the transition. When it comes down to it, my current job is not very different from what I was doing before: both professions require immense attention to detail and a constant effort to boost efficiency. I just wanted to find a more managerial position and get back to my true passion: numbers. What better job to do that than banking?
What do you like about working at BNP Paribas?
Its openness to diversity and the opportunities it offers to its employees, both in terms of geographic mobility and career development.
What is your biggest challenge?
Constant innovation. While the job is very technical and can sometimes come off as tedious, we’re constantly working to improve the way we do things, both in terms of our procedures and the concrete tasks we carry out. Innovation is the air we breathe every day. It’s what pushes us to ask: how can we do things better and more simply?
“ Stay focused, be bold, and think of BNP Paribas not just as your future employer, but also as a big family. As the company grows, so do its employees! ”
Back Office Administrator Financial Services
