Learn more about our Client Coverage apprenticeship scheme - James

🎥 Jan 28, 2022 📺 StandardChartered ⏱ 3m

James talks about his time so far in Client Coverage and what it’s like being part of the team.

About James Wilson

In a 2022 video for Standard Chartered's early careers website, James Wilson, a cofounder of the bank, described his role in client coverage. He stated that the department works to "deepen and nurture the relationships that we have for our clients" across sectors including airlines, telecommunications, and financial institutions. Wilson explained that client coverage ensures clients are aware of the bank's financial products and services, and approaches them based on what might be relevant. He gave examples of advising an automotive company on raising money for electric vehicle development and a manufacturing company on managing exposure to rising energy prices. Wilson noted that Standard Chartered focuses on emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and said his work is in mergers and acquisitions, which involves "a lot of number crunching" to value companies and assess the benefits of a combination. He described the role as suitable for analytical people who enjoy longer-term projects, and said the bank's emphasis on sustainability and diversity, along with its "unique footprint," makes it "a really special place to work."

Source: AI-verified profile updated from James Wilson's recent appearances. Browse all interviews →

Transcript (6 segments)

James Wilson0:10

Clients which come from a variety of sectors including the airline sector, telecommunications sector, financial institutions, and many more. In other words, the bank has a toolkit of financial products and services they can offer, and it's the job of client coverage to make sure clients are aware of these products and services and to also approach them based on the ones we feel might be relevant to them.

Client coverage is a really unique place within the bank because you get to see everything that the bank can offer. So a couple of examples of this are advising how an automotive company can raise money to effectively develop the electric vehicle offering that it has, or perhaps it could be advising a manufacturing company on how to manage their exposure to...

So we largely focus on emerging markets, so this can range from Asia, Africa, or the Middle East. And it's our role here in client coverage to open these markets up for our clients and to offer them an opportunity to explore these markets. So the growth potential across these markets makes for a very interesting and also compelling proposition.

So I work in a relatively niche area of client coverage called mergers and acquisitions. So as part of this team, we look to advise companies on buying and selling one another. So naturally this involves a lot of number crunching as we seek to value the companies but also the benefit that the companies might receive as a result of a combination too.

More generally, the bank's website. I'd also say that you should be enthusiastic throughout the whole interview, so show the person that you want the job, and then also tie it in with any experience and skills that you have done in the past that makes you a good fit for the job. And then I would say to just be yourself. So whenever you're giving a response to any of the interview questions or any of the questions throughout the application process, just make sure that your personality shines throughout.

So going into any job can feel exciting and nerve-wracking, often in equal measures. But it wasn't long before I realized how friendly and supportive everyone was at Standard Chartered, which really gave me a sense of feeling at home at the bank from very early on.