Tim joined Fitch via an internship in December 2003, his last year of a combined Commerce/Economics degree at the University of Queensland. He worked with Fitch in his final semester. In July 2004, he was offered a job as an analyst and has been there ever since.
What does your job involve?
Ratings agencies examine an institution’s ability to repay in a timely fashion the debt it has issued to the market. My primary responsibility is to monitor Australian and New Zealand banks and provide credit research on them. My team monitors a portfolio of almost 20 financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand. We assess the creditworthiness of an institution by looking at things such as its capital levels, its risk management, the overall strategy of the business, and the financial position of the institution.
What are the career prospects?
There is a clear career progression but not rungs the way there are in banks. As you become more expert, your areas of responsibility increase. For instance, a responsibility I have picked up this year is talking to investors about Australian banks. Somewhere down the line I could move onto committees that determine the rating criteria we use.
Alternatively, I could move to an entirely different sector, or to rating banks for a different region, probably Asia. And there is always the opportunity of working anywhere around the world because Fitch is global.
What made you join a ratings agency?
It was a bit of blind luck, really. A friend sent me Fitch’s ad for an intern, and I was lucky enough to be offered the position. It felt a good fit for my career. I’d always been interested in finance. I thought about joining investment banking, but, in the end, there are lifestyle things that matter, too.
What was the hardest thing when you began?
Talking to senior executives at major institutions. I found that quite intimidating. You respect them and don’t want to ask a stupid question. After a while, you realize they are human. And as you get more comfortable with your job, you become more comfortable discussing issues with executives.
Tim’s tips:- You have to have a passion for finance. If you’re ambivalent at all, it’s not the area for you.
- You need excellent communication skills. The job requires a facility with English as much as with numbers. Lots of people are nervous about public speaking: if you are, brush up on that.
- Confidence really helps in your job and in yourself. Shyness and embarrassment are a serious impediment in this work.
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