Pros
The work was, for the most part, interesting. My team were generally welcoming and supportive, I also really enjoyed the analyst training program on offer and learnt a huge amount in my time there, from excel modelling to credit analysis. Citi offers opportunities to relocate to other locations or partake in secondments and rotations in different product teams; resulting in a well-rounded appreciation for the capabilities and services offered by such a global bank. We had a limited amount of team events, and a function-wide Christmas and Summer party - all of which were fairly enjoyable. Salary and bonus are good and in line with the hours that are expected. Citi prides itself on inclusivity and diversity, and I definitely saw and felt these values at play. It was incredible to work with such a diverse bunch of people from all over the globe - finance in London can typically be dominated to the male, pale and stale brigade, but this definitely wasn't my experience of Citi.
Cons
Corporate banking is a lifestyle choice. This should be made glaringly obvious upon application. The hours are long - expect to finish at 9pm on average, increasing to around midnight during crunch times, and roughly 2 Sundays per month - and there is a fair amount of pressure. The nature of the job essentially means you are permanently 'on call', so expect to check emails during holidays and weekends, and expect that you could be asked to come into work at the drop of a hat - I had colleagues who had to reschedule holidays and I cancelled many of my own weekend plans to work on last minute deals. This can take a toll on your mental and physical health, so make sure you are mentally prepared for these hours before you apply. A culture of 'face time' also still exists, which can be quite frustrating from time to time. Internal credit systems were cumbersome, slow and generally very boring and time-consuming to work with; flicking between PDF risk guides, antiquated web-based platforms and excel templates prone to glitches - the whole credit infrastructure could do with a well needed makeover.
