Javier, 32, had spent nearly four years as a branch manager and then sixteen months as a workflow manager for Barclays Bank prior to enrolling on the Bath MBA.
He graduated from the University of Bath School of Management full-time MBA programme in 2010 and approached the management consulting industry but couldn't land a role.
It was the recent crises in the financial markets, especially the collapse of Lehman Brothers, that prompted Javier to take his career in a different direction. He quit his job with Barclays to enroll on the full-time MBA.
He chose Bath because of its reputation and proximity to Bristol where he lived. He also wanted a general management programme that would allow him to keep his post-MBA career options as flexible as possible.
2010 wasn’t a promising time for MBA recruitment: “Because the market was tight, I felt they would rather take someone who already had a background in consulting rather than train someone from scratch,” he said.
After five months he still hadn't found a job but, as luck would have it, a former Barclays colleague referred Javier to the recruitment team at Swedish bank Handelsbanken. After a series of interviews he was offered a job and began life as a private banker!
“Going back to banking was the best decision I ever made”, said Javier. As an individual banking manager at Handelsbanken since February 2011, he has been responsible for managing personal banking from current accounts, savings and lending,and property purchases. Handelsbanken only deals with high net-worth individuals but each customer's case is dealt with on its own merit.
The bank specializes in providing bespoke banking services to customers who want a long-term relationship with their bank. It's old fashioned banking in the sense that clients can access their manager and rely on the fact that each manager is the decision-maker, making decisions that are in their best interest.
The Handelsbanken culture is very different to that of UK banks: managers don't have sales targets and aren't awarded bonuses.“The best thing about my job is managing relationships with customers. Having worked in a high street bank, this is a completely different experience and I look forward to coming to work everyday”
Javier’s typical includes making sure his customers’ accounts have the right balance and haven’t become overdrawn. He specialises on property deals, both residential and commercial, doing all of the undertaking in-house and therefore having full control of the process. He often meets existing and prospective clients at their homes or offices.
The MBA helps him a lot when meeting clients and understanding their challenges. He said, "The MBA has provided me with an understanding and vision of business which I find very useful when speaking to my customers, especially the ones that own their own businesses."
Over the next few years, Javier would like to establish his career within Handelsbanken and take on opportunities for growth within the bank. He said, “The natural step would be going to corporate manager, then branch manager, regional manager, and so on. The bank keeps expanding in the UK so I’m sure more opportunities for growth will come up.”
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