Case study: Gareth Boardman

“The international aspect of HSBC is the thing that stood out most for me.”

“As I am a generalist I would say that, although a finance degree is not necessary, an interest in the financial markets most definitely is.”

“We're an international bank, offering all services, anywhere. That is our competitive advantage and something we are really building on.”

The international aspect of HSBC is the thing that stood out most for me. Since joining, HSBC has taken me to London for my initial training and orientation; Geneva for relationship management; New York for investment advisory and Hong Kong for equity analysis. And the international aspect hasn't stopped there. I am Scottish, working in French-speaking Switzerland for an Italian boss, and covering Colombia and Venezuela.

I am a relationship manager for clients in the Andean Pact Region of Latin America. This means ensuring all of our clients' financial needs are catered for. I am a generalist and need to know a little about most things. It is my job then to find the appropriate specialists to come up with financial solutions. The other aspect of the role is to grow the business by bringing new money into the bank through travel, marketing events or just doing a good job with our existing clients.

My favourite part of the job is sitting down face to face with our clients and listening to their business ideas and investment concerns. It's very rewarding to be able to come up with solutions using the vast HSBC network we have at our disposal.

Geneva is one of the main centres for Private Banking and as such, all of HSBC's resources in this city are geared towards this part of the business. Everyone is very accessible and pro-business which makes new projects dynamic and exciting. Teams are small and so responsibility is delegated quickly. I have already been given a portfolio of clients and it is now up to me to build up my book and make a valuable contribution to the team.

HSBC is not a Swiss private bank and never will be. This is what a lot of clients love about us. We're an international bank, offering all services, anywhere. That is our competitive advantage and something we are really building on. It is invaluable when sitting in front of a client that you can introduce him to business contacts in Hong Kong; provide a mortgage in Panama; manage his private wealth in Switzerland; and set up a student account for his daughter in New York. People like that.