Summer Saga 2020 - My Summer Internship At CRISIL

 The process had an aptitude test where we were tested on Quant and Logical Reasoning abilities. As it was within 2 months of joining, my practice for entrance exams helped here. The results came within 2 days. Selected candidates were called for Group discussion on a current economics/ finance topic. The shortlisted students were called for the tricky part, at least for me, the interview. I focused my preparation on the ongoing introductory courses on corporate finance and microeconomics. My regular reading of banking and finance news in Economic times, mint, and few journals in the library added to build on my understanding in the finance area.

 The interview was based on a few topics related to NPAs in the banking /NBFC industry, Analysis using the financial statements of firms.

I faced the interview with confidence and I didn't lose it despite not knowing answers for some questions. I replied that I am not aware and it was good that I said it instead of taking a random guess. Knowledge of courses like corporate finance, managerial accounting, and financial analysis would help a lot in preparing for the interview.

 Later there was one more final round of interviews. I was asked to give my understanding on the global financial crisis, securitization, and there were some questions on IBC. There were few general questions like my interest in pursuing a career in finance and some questions about my previous work experience.

This concluded the selection process and after a few days, the result was announced and to my surprise, I was selected for the summer internship program of CRISIL

 And the PG-1 continued...

 I was very happy to make it despite my fears at the beginning of the process. Taking this success forward, I continued to learn some of the important courses in the curriculum at NIBM, like Banking and Financial Management, Credit and Market Risk Management, Banking Regulation. These subjects help to understand the assessment of a firm/bank amidst regulatory purview. Macroeconomic environment and Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance subjects taught in curriculum helped me understanding the evaluation of the firm. The hands-on experience in Advanced MS-Excel, VBA Macros gained in courses like Computational Techniques, Decision Support Systems was an added advantage.

 The Contagion and the crisis

 The COVID-19 has affected all Global economies and called for an abrupt lockdown. Educational institutions were no exemptions, we vacated the college and started to getting acquainted with the online mode. All the posts from MBA students whose internships were rescinded started to worry me. But I have received a communication from CRISIL that they will be starting the internship program online.

 Work from home- the new normal and Virtual Internship

 It started with virtual onboarding in the third week of April. All the formalities were informed well in advance. The HR team has supported in all aspects. In the initial induction days, there were introductory sessions about the firm and briefings about the conduct at the firm. There were leadership sessions where the interns got to know about the firm and their experience. These were enriching helped to know more about the firm.

 My internship was with EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) Insurance team which is a part of the Global Analytical Centre of CRISIL. My project was “Study of Solvency-II regulation for European Insurers”. It was about assessing the capital adequacy of Insurance Group companies operating in Europe. The project needed an understanding of the Solvency-II Regulation which the insurance companies comply with.

 Though I come from a Banking and Financial Services program, the research project was a very niche one in its nature. The knowledge of BASEL Accords, RBI Regulatory, and Supervisory framework which I acquired during the PG-1 at NIBM helped me to pick up the pace very soon and deliver accordingly.

 The help that I got from mentors is commendable. I used to have regular catch-ups with my manager to assess my progress and solve any problems I faced. During the innumerable virtual sessions with my mentors, I cleared my doubts, built the research direction, and made progress.

 As the internship is completely virtual, the research had to be done with the data in the public domain. I collected the data points that are useful for my research from the public disclosures on the company websites. This exercise was quite meticulous and took a considerable amount of time. There were some hurdles like the unavailability of reports in English and financials in currency other than the euro. I could overcome them with the assistance of mentors.

 In the final week (second week of June), I had to make a presentation and submit a report on the project. It was a good experience to make a crisp presentation. I built the narrative using visual aids which were made using the data that I collected. Proficiency in Excel and MS-Office helped me to perform better and effectively.

 The presentations went well and I received positive feedback on my efforts. The team is further looking to enrich the study I made during the project which is a great achievement for me.

 In prevailing difficult situations where primary workforce planning remains a tough challenge, CRISIL’s commitment to run the Internship program is highly appreciated. I am thankful to the organization for honouring the offer amid such difficult times. Though the internship was entirely virtual it was a knowledge-rich one.