Emma Keene

I moved full time into the Infrastructure, Energy and Project Finance team with a focus to Renewable Energy and Transitional Technologies. I support the team with origination of Project Finance deals.

An associate with the Infrastructure & Energy, and Project Finance Team jointly with the UK Sustainable Finance Team. With a focus on Project Finance transactions and Green Finance across the Commercial Bank, I support Directors on a variety of transactions from large scale energy infrastructure, to structuring Sustainability-Linked Loans and Green lending. I have a particular interest to supporting customers on their transition plans and the critical infrastructure required for a net-zero economy.

I joined the Portfolio, Policy Reporting and Regulatory Control team in Wholesale Risk Management in August. I have enjoyed working on Sector Reviews, exposure to Climate Risk management and understanding implications on Credit Risk across various areas of the bank.

I have joined the Manufacturing Sector team at HSBC for my second placement, building collaboration across the bank and my knowledge of the sectorised strategy.

Following my Internship in Summer 2020, I accepted the role as a Commercial Banking Graduate with HSBC. I joined the Hamilton team virtually, my first placement being with Business Banking Direct. Working in a customer facing role has been an important part in developing a thorough and holistic understanding of lending procedures in the bank. I have enjoyed working across various teams in BBD, finding opportunities to mobilise conversations and learn about SME sustainable financing.

A role I have taken on moving into my final year at University. I am responsible for the club social media platforms where I promote the club to attract new members, maintaining the sites to provide the community with information of events and updates. During Covid-19 the club has been a key provider of free Zoom sessions to support students, available to club members and non-members who seek some support and access to fitness.

Directing Students to finding more about the opportunities available at HSBC, advocating for the brand and assisting with recruitment for the 2020/2021 season. Discover opportunities with HSBC with this link: https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/476013527;282217035;a Apply to our Spring competition here: http://ocply.co/hsbcincludingyou-hsbcintern5

This virtual Summer Internship provided me with global insights to Commercial Banking, where I was placed with a Mid-Market Enterprises team assisting work with diverse portfolios of the Thames Valley. I collaborated on multiple topical projects concerning, “build back better” and community, researching and presenting ideas concerning the new Covid-19 working environment. Further involved with the community, within a team I created exciting Intern challenges which fundraised for Sue Ryder, contributing to a total of more than £14,000. I conversed with customers building my understanding of the importance of relationships, reviewing tailored customer solutions to improve their strategy and assisted the team with meeting tasks. The opportunities to develop leadership through hosting a volunteering community wellbeing session and co-lead a Client Engagement Plan project benefitted my confidence in and being a diverse member of a team, adding valuable contributions throughout the placement.

Supporting multiple departments in a sales role and working in delivery improved my time management alongside stock take, aiding display creation and serving customers on the shop floor, developing my ability to learn and adapt frequently and communicate within a team.

Responsibilities included managing stock levels, serving customers and helping to create and manage displays; I became more confident in initiating with customers and resolving challenging situations, allowing me to consistently hit sales targets maintaining customer awareness.

I wrote blogs on mainstream media conducting and critiquing online material and published them on behalf of APT on social media. I also helped develop advertisement of the Cheltenham Cycling Festival, whilst promoting cycling as an alternative sustainable mode of transport.

Attained business insight through reviewing their worldwide sales distribution, I collated the company’s 2016 sales figures to generate a spreadsheet report in excel, geographically analysing trends and offering recommendation in future investments to boost revenue.

Particular study interests include geopolitics of international trade including the study of the Belt and Road initiative, circular economy concepts. I studied the sustainability of supply chains in clothing production, researching the intersectionality of race and sustainability in the fashion industry for my dissertation. Conceptualising an understanding of sustainability which focuses on the people in production, representation of communities, as well as the environmental impact is essential in redefining what ‘sustainability’ means.