Bank of America Strategy & Management Analyst Summer Internship

Thank you LORD JESUS

Why are you interested in Enterprise Credit?

I’m really fascinated by Entrepreneurship and seeing how different businesses operate (maybe hope to get into it in my 40s). However, the most interesting about it is that 50% of businesses fail within 2 years and even more within 10.

Working as an Enterprise Credit Analyst, I’ll directly get to see the challenges that all sorts of businesses face and analyze them, like financial risks, regulatory risks, counter party risk, and general market risks. And theres a diverse pool of business from 5 year old businesses to 70 year old businesses

How do you keep up with financial news?

I tend to watch macroeconomic news sources such as Financial Times and TRT World to get news on recent developments in things that may affect the larger supply chain.

For instance Brazil is facing worse climate conditions and this has resulted in a shortage of coffee. This has resulted in many coffee farmers in East Africa, like Uganda and Kenya, beginning to expand their production to cover the shortage.

Just goes to show how interconnected the world is.

Tell me about a time you worked in a team

This summer during my Private Equity internship, I was put on a group of two and tasked the assignment of creating an $100 million investment portfolio for a mock client. We were given 1 week to make a portfolio that reflected her personal values.

So given the short time frame, me and my partner began by first deciding how we were going to communicate throughout and also internal deadlines and goals. Our goal in addition to the deliverable was to be knowledgable on clients portfolio.

After deciding email and text, we planned each day out. With the first 3 days being focused on researching our client and knowing her interests and virtues. We also looked at various asset class allocations that would make her capital resilient throughout market conditions but also grow it.

On the third day we chose specific securities with the asset classes that aligned with her values but had low volatility and low correlation to mitigate risk.

And from there we made the power point and presented to each other, revising it, until we had it near memorized.

We ended up presenting it really well, with our manager saying we were straightforward and well informed.

How has your coursework prepared you for this role?

My coursework has given me a strong foundation on the world of corporate finance and business strategy. Prior to my last internship, I thought school gives you knowledge like 1 foot deep in a 10ft pool. However during my internship I quickly realized, school helps you get 1 ft deep into an ocean, but helps you swim deeper into it faster.

At the very least From what I’ve learned in my Financial Markets Class and Portfolio Management classes last year year its pretty apparent school has helped me connect conceptual dots and make pracitcal things like excel models on the job.

Why Bank of America?

Well Bank of America has 8 lines of business and within each line there is a diversity in their clients. While most are businesses that face different circumstances, the company has been able to serve all stakeholders both employees and clients, in a way that rewards both. Based of the Q2 report I’d say the business is happy.

Now for the people that make the business. All the Bank of America analysts I’ve spoken with have talked about the work-life balance that’s unique to Bank of America, and career development offered by things like the The Academy at Bank of America which is a resource library. You’re not going find that anywhere else.

I have the Job at Bank of America as a Strategy & Management Analyst

In Jesus Name God willing Amen.

Mark 9:25 I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!

Income Statement

Tells you the revenue and expenses a company faced during a specific period of time

Its bottom line is Net IncomeS

Statement of Cash Flows

Tells you how the company uses its cash

It has:

Investing Activities

Financing Activities

Operating Activities

Its Bottom Line is Net Change in Cash

Balance Sheet

Is a snapshot of a company’s financial health at specific date

It shows the assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity of a company

Goldman Sachs:

Tell me about a time you were analytical or used data to make a decision?

So Last January me and my friend founded an Agricultural Group in Uganda harvesting plantain.

Early on we began tracking market prices for the commodity by having someone go to local market weekly. However, I realized that there was some discrepency between prices among nearby markets.

So I created a spreadsheet that aggregated the average of markets and compared it to the national average, which made it easier to track market prices and time our market selling when harvest came.

We ended up making 15% more per kilo of plantain just by selling on the correct date than we would have at the beginning.

Goldman Sachs:

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Within the next 5 years, I see myself as developing into a well-versed risk and operational associate leader at this firm. That builds value for clients and my team.

In the next 5 years there will obviously be developments within technology,

And I see myself using the experience I get within the next few years alongside technology and data to create greater efficiency within the workflow.

Of my team and various departments

Tell me about yourself

I’m a 3rd year student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying Finance and Entrepreneurship.

Growing up with an immigrant background, I saw the developed world and the developing world and always wondered why businesses are so different even if their in the same field.

My fascination with this drew me into learning more about the capital markets and the transfer of capital to enterprises that create value.

I’m most interested in seeing how different enterprise manage risk and function to profit and survive, as well as how capital providers assess the vital characteristics of businesses.

I’ve got a chance to dive into that last summer through a Private Equity internship, and hope to see more of the operational side of businesses.

Goldman Sachs:

1. You have just submitted a critical monthly report on behalf of the team to your manager. You realized there is a mistake on a part of the report that is rarely reviewed, what would you do, and who would youu talk to about it?

I would take responsibility right away because this was a report I contributed to.

Then I’d review the mistake and update the information, correcting mistake and sending an email to my manager informing him of the correction.

Since success is a team effort, accuracy and transparency are essential.

So I’d also let my team know about the correction afterward.

Tell me about a time where you worked with a group mate who wasn’t giving any effort

So there was a time where I was assigned to a group presentation final project.

And there was a student named Pascal assigned to my group who didn’t show up to certain meetings and would be late to the few he did.

Me and my group, tried reaching out to him through text and email as well as in person, but after repeated ill-behaviour nearing our final presentation we decided to contact the professor and inform him we weren’t if he would even be present for the presentation but we had prepared in the case that he wouldn;’t show.

Now when it came to the final project, he ended up being a no-show however, my group had allocated and practiced the powerpoint material in a way that considered this scenario. 

So we were able to present without flaw, and our teacher handled Pascal seperately.

Why are you interest in JP Morgan?

Use 50/50 Rule

I’m interested in working at JP Morgan because of its attitude towards business and its internal culture.

Make Momentum Happen isn’t just a phrase its the way JP does things.

Since its founding in the 19th century, where it played a major role in corporations like General Electric and US Steel its been an organization that makes things happen on a macro level as well as a micro-level for employees and communities.

Having had the opportunity to speak with former employees, I know what I’m getting into and the culture. To make diamonds you need pressure. And there’s a culture that seeks out excellence from employees but also gives them the resources to do that at JP Morgan.

Not only that, but JP is actively involved in community efforts with programs like Force for Good and Community Development Banking, which gives low-income families the opportunity to create wealth through real estate.

Having worked at a philanthropic organization for a while, seeing concerning for all stakeholders is something I value.

Why are you the right fit for JP Morgan Global Commodities?

Having come from a Private Equity Internship, I’ve gained experience analyzing capital markets.

I had the opportunity to work with quantitative and qualitative data and during that time, we not only evaluated companies’s value but we also had a chance to analyze the risks.

For instance, there was a time where were given a Investment Banking Sim for a fintech and told to analyze the company. And looking at the financials everything seemed to right when it came to ratios. However, when my team looked at the regulatory risks the company faced as well as as financial risks that came during various economic conditions, we quickly realized the company wasn’t as safe as we thought.

When we gave the presentation, we were able to explain the hidden risks of the company and our mangers were impressed to see we looked at the bigger picture.

Having experience working with data and communicating my analysis, I believe I’[ll be a good fit for JP’s Global Commodities team.

What are some current events in the market that you’ve been following?

Tell me about yourself (JP)

I’m a 3rd year student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying Finance & Entrepreneurship.

Coming from an immigrant background I always wondered why businesses are so different are between the developing and developed world. 

And this fascination led to me learning about capital markets on a macro-economic level and realizing that businesses are more interconnected than I thought.

My fascination brought me to Promus Holdings this last summer, a Private Equity Firm where I got hands-on experience on the capital markets from a capital allocator’s perspective, analyzing the risks and benifts potential acquisitions.

I’m hoping to dig more into the debt side of the capital markets, and the larger picture of how global events, fiscal and monetary policy affect business as we know it.

Describe your most challenging team situation and how you handled it?

Mbogo Agriculture Group

Additional fertilizer vs budget

The agricultural group my friend and I had cofounded

So some time after fertilization our crop scientist suggested to us to fertilize the plantain even more.

However, we had used all our allocated fertilization budget and the remaining budget was for harvesting and storage.

Having bootstrapped as much as I could already, we were left between using money from the harvesting and storage or continuing with the harvest with the current amount of fertlization.

After consulting with more seasoned farmers, we ended up taking from the storage budget and increase our fertilization as we reasoned larger yields would be more worth while and we’d take the risk in the spot market with large plantain.

Our decision ended up paying off, as our plantain was signficantly heavier in kilograms and we ended up sell in a favourable market.

We had set budgets for plowing, fertilizing, harvesting and storage and had to reallocate our budget.

How do you handle competing deadlines?

I first communicate with the people who’ve given me the deadlines, and reach out to determine my priorities.

After determining the order of importance I create a day to day schedule with weekly internal goals. As I get tasks done, I continue to update my managers to let them where I am on the project or task.

This is summer I was faced with a situation similar to the question. My family wanted me to pick them up from the airport, my landlord wanted a rent drop off and tenant meeting and I had delivarable at the office all on the same day, during work hours.

I first determined my priorities, with my Private Equity Internship experience being the thing I valued because it was only for the summer,

then I reached out to my landlord and informed him of the conflicting time deadline and asked if we could meet earlier or after, and I let my parents know of my situation.

Landlord was more than happy to take a later time and my parents decided to get transportation through an uber.

What are the 3 most important skills for this role?

I’d saying being able to communicate

Being able analyze data and connect trends

And being able to take initiative

Are the most important Skills.

Success is a team effort os communicating with team mates, portfolio managers, and other stakeholders is important to make sure everyone is on the same page and has accurate inforamtion.

Global Fixed Income Currency and Commodities has alot of quanatative work involved, being able to understand and use the numbers is essential in bringing value to the table.

There’s alot of departments and alot of work, but also of resource for workers. No one is there to hold your hand, so one has to being ambitious to get things done.

How do you handle high pressure situations?

Well I look towards the end result I’m aiming for and then take it one step at a time.

To make diamonds you need pressure.

And I’ve seen that in my Private Equity internship and even before that in school.

My parents told me my sophomore year of high school that they wouldn’t support me at all financially for college, as my brother had just gotten a full-ride they said they believed I can too.

Now the pressure was on, but step by step, by going to tutoring sessions, reaching out to scholarship receipients and asking them for advise, I was able to get a high enough GPA, SAT, and write good essays. I ended up receiving a full-ride scholarship at University of Illinois.

Biggest failure

Biology presentation with jose

What’s a risk you had to take at work

Talk about recommending to NOT TO ACQUIRE a fintech company that had good financials, before the investment board of the private equity firm.

Why are you interested in Bank of America?

I’m interested in working at Bank of America because of its attitude towards business and its internal culture.

What would you like the Power to do? Is more than just a question its a mentality at Bank of America

Bank of America has 8 lines of business and within each line there is a diversity in their clients’s needs. While most clients are businesses that face different circumstances, the company has been able to serve all stakeholders both employees and clients, in an exceptionally way.

Having had the opportunity to speak with current employees, I know what I’m getting into and the culture at BoFa. To make diamonds you need pressure. And there’s a culture that seeks out excellence from employees but also gives them the resources to do that at Bank of America.

Having a huge passion for business and working within businesses, I feel that Bank of America’s values line up directly with my own.

REALIZE THE POWER OF PEOPLE

ACT RESPONSIBLY

and DELIVER TOGETHER are things I have emulated in the teams I’ve been in and so I feel Bank of America lines up most with me.

What is your biggest weakness?

In the past I had an issue of not knowing when it was appropriate to ask for help in certain projects, and I’d be too stubborn in trying figure it out. And this sometimes meant spending a hours on hours trying to find a solution, even though it would have been more time-efficient to ask the teacher or a co-worker for guidance after little bit rather than burning hours.

However, since my private equity internship and especially throughout my entrepreneurial venture I’ve learned that human capital is often the most valuable resource available to me. And so while I still try to work things out, I’ve become more intentional of noticing of time and appropriately inquire guidance when needed.

Tell me about yourself

I’m a 3rd year student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying Finance and Entrepreneurship.

Growing up with an immigrant background, I saw the developed world and the developing world and always wondered why businesses are so different even if their in the same field.

My fascination with this drew me into learning more about the capital markets and how enterprises create value and adapt to the times.

Last year I co-founded an agricultural group with my friend, Mbogo Agricultural Group, where we harvested and sold plantain. I had the opportunity to coordinate a group of farmers and crop scientists, and we had a successful harvest of over $3,000.

And more recently this summer, I had the privilege of working at a Private Equity firm, where I got to analyze the risks of companies looking at financial data, regulatory conditions, and economic conditions and assess whether an acquisition should be done. 

I really want to dive more into the world of financial services working with businesses and problem solving.