Over the summer of my 3rd year of study at HKUST, I had the opportunity to join HSBC Global Markets division as a summer analyst. The opportunity opened the door to my finance career eventually after I returned to join HSBC as an analyst. 

In the global markets or sales & trading division, we help corporates and institutional clients buy and sell financial securities across different asset classes like equities, bonds and currencies. Due to the vast number of financial securities available for trading, there are numerous sub-desks and teams across the trading floor working together in a fast-paced environment to serve clients’ needs. 
 

As a summer analyst on the trading floor, I did my rotations across two desks - Corporate Sales and FX Trading. As a corporate sales, we mainly help corporate clients hedge FX or interest rate risks with various financial or yield-enhancing products. We also help maintain client relationships and think of new, innovative ways to help corporates manage their risks. Whereas an FX trader focuses on the market making for different currencies, managing risks on their own trading books, and executing clients’ orders. It is interesting to see how different teams on the floor work together to meet the needs of different clients. 

Having a double major in Global Business and Economics, I was able to better adapt to the fast-paced job nature of sales and trading. The GBUS courses I took helped me build up my communication and analytical skills to give concise and accurate presentations, while the ECON courses better prepared me to pick up the complicated macro concepts that I came across during my internship. I would say both experiences at HSBC and HKUST have deepened my interest in the banking industry, which allowed me to understand more about this world through the lens of macroeconomics and finance.