Getting the job done: graduate reviews global strategy for a retail bank

The global payment strategy project was a strategy review supported at the highest levels within RBS. The brief was to devise an action plan to make the bank a top five global payments bank for retail and corporate clients. It involved considering factors such as how money is transmitted across borders, how soon funds could be cleared, how the bank dealt with clients ranging from small businesses and large corporations and how the bank could grow its presence across Europe, the US and Asia. When graduate Sanjeev Pottay was seconded to the project little did he know he would end up becoming a finance stream leader and travelling in the US.

‘I was at the end of a placement on the graduate scheme and a message came through our HR network, asking for someone of graduate calibre to help out.’ Sanjeev explains. ‘I applied and went for an internal interview with the project leader. He asked me about my strategy experience, project management skills, availability and whether I had a valid passport. I joined the team soon after.’

An international role

The project team comprised eight full-time and six part-time members, including a finance board member, external consultants and technology specialists. Sanjeev’s initial role was to provide project management support: ‘At first I ensured communications were made, arranged meetings, took minutes, did web research – plugging holes as required,’ he says. ‘The project entailed holding executive workshops, where key members of the board and executives across our group formulated future product and customer requirements, and I facilitated these. I did strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis, which really developed my analytical skills. I also prepared slide shows and sent communications. It was great to have contact with senior people so early in my career.’

'It was amazing to become a stream leader when I was still a graduate but the project leader had faith in me.'

His analytical skills were also put to good use when he became responsible for part of the report on US retail banking. ‘The US is the biggest payments market in the world and we’re in the top ten. I looked at our strengths and how we could improve.’ He went with his team on a whistle-stop tour of the US covering Atlanta, Boston and Seattle. ‘We had meetings with key people in our business but we also visited Microsoft to get a better understanding of the technology side of things. It was fantastic – the thinking was completely out of the box.’

Becoming a manager

Back in the UK things were moving fast and when the finance stream leader was reallocated to another project, Sanjeev was promoted. ‘It was amazing as all the other leaders were executives and I was still on a graduate scheme but my project leader had faith in me.’

His new role involved examining the costs associated with different initiatives, predicting revenues and identifying what level of investment was required both in terms of finance and expertise. ‘I liaised with executives across the group to get these figures,’ he explains. ‘Everyone on the retail and corporate sides were keen to help because what we were doing would affect them. A lot of the work had to be done in the last two weeks because we were waiting for certain issues to be resolved so it was quite busy.’

It also saw Sanjeev taking on managerial responsibility for the first time. ‘I had a contractor to help me with financial modelling, which freed me up to look at the overall picture. I didn’t have a specific management method – I just followed my instincts and ensured there was a lot of communication between us.’

Reaping the benefits

Now, many of the recommendations from the strategy review are being put into effect. ‘It’s great to see a tangible benefit from the project and see our models being put into action,’ Sanjeev says. ‘I enjoyed the fast pace of working on the project – at times it seemed crazily busy but it was great to work with many sector experts.’

Sanjeev has three months before the end of his graduate placement and is looking to find a permanent place in investment banking but would like to return to strategy in the long term. ‘It was interesting to learn about a new area of business and I feel like I’ve benefited from a unique opportunity.’

Sanjeev Pottay is a finance graduate at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. He has a BA in business economics from Leeds University.