Changing Faces: Banking Associate

Tell us about how you grew up

I was born in Durban, kwa Dabeka township kwa A. I had a wonderful upbringing sharing it with a house full of my cousins in a house led by my grandmother. I loved playing, singing and watching Kideo. I was a happy child but very cocooned and could only play in my yard…that cheesy township life. LOL. My primary school life began with me moving to the suburbs, this was a lonely life, being an only child and having to now entertain myself with indoor activities. This gave me no option but to love school. I loved reading and doing my homework and took pride in academic achievement.  I also engaged myself in sports and cultural activities. This was sustained all the way through high school and I was very fortunate to get accolades of Head Girl, Dux, sports captain, national debating and the like.

Geez! Thank you for making us mere mortal feel like under achievers! So where has all this super star quality brought you now?

I am now a banker (Coverage) at Citi Bank. Within Corporate Banking I manage a portfolio of clients within the non-banking financial institutions sector.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

 B.com Accounting.

I use this to a very small degree. (Financial Analysis)

How long have you been working and what do you miss about not working (i.e. being a full time student)

 I have been working for 5 years

What I miss about not working is sleep and flexibility i.e. the option to not wake up if I wanted to.

How is your typical day?

There is no such thing as a typical day. I operate in a very client driven environment so often a client can turn my day upside down. LOL

A day comprises of a quick market update in the morning, drafting credit papers, client meetings, internal product meetings, KYC and AML management as per US reg. (USA regulation). Dealing with a lot with compliance given regulation as we comply with US reg.

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA? 

Yes.

Being young in the banking environment is tough because I find I am the youngest by far in my team. The team is well seasoned and it’s great to learn from but difficult at times to challenge things or add input due to lack of experience.

Black- It’s challenging in the industry as a whole as the face of banking is still heavily “white male”.

Woman- We have a long way to go. This is evidenced by lack of female presence in management. It’s not inspiring at times but equally challenging as we need to break the ceiling. Moving up- not because we are woman but because we are credible and able to add value.

Three tips on people keen to join your line of work?

Open mind

Thick skin

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