ECU'nomist, Year 23, Issue 4

The ECU’nomist

Professor Hein Roelfsema on University Premiums Interviews: Petar, ABN, SNS Nibud Researcher on Budgetting Elections: India and Indonesia

June 2014, YEAR 23, ISSUE 4

CHANGE IS COMING

Contents

Page 1 ________________________________________ Letter from the Editor Page 2 ________________________________________ Letter from the Board Page 3 _______________________________________University at a Premium Page 5 __________________________________________Happiness is Control Page 7 ____________________________ ABN AMRO: Heels and Skyscrapers Page 9 _____________________________________________Petar the Great Page 11 ___________________________________________For (SNS) REAAL Page 13 _________________________Out with the Bailout, in with the Bail-in!

Page 14_____________________________________The Dutch Mob in RomePage 15 ____________Ik spreek geen Nederlands, but do you have a job for me?

Page 16 _______________________________________Digital Crowdfunding Page 17 ________________________________________Model United Nations Page 19 ________________________________________Archipelago Elections Page 21 ___________________Is this the Happy Ending India was looking for?

Page 23 _______________________________________London Business Tour

The ECU’nomist is published every quarter online, as well as printed in a circulation of 500 for members, patrons and external contacts of ECU’92.

Thomas Huigen | Dea Tusha | Mithra Madhavan | Lukas Molkentin | Annette Aprilana

Study Association ECU’92 Kriekenpitplein 18, Room 1.21 3584EC Utrecht T 030-2539680

www.ecu92.nl editorial@ecu92.nl Printed by flyeralarm BV

Letter from the Editor

Dear ECU’92 Tribe Members, The end of the 2013/2014 academic year has arrived. Soon you will be lounging around in the sun, watching the World Cup and sipping on cocktails; or you might be paling away at a grey desk in a bank if you are brave enough to take an internship during the summer. Either way, you will be leaving the USE campus, and you might reflect on what you have learnt during the last year, perhaps reaching an existential crisis. What was the point of all those courses; why did I sit in the library for all those hours (or minutes) when I could have been doing much more interesting things; why am I studying this Bachelor? Depending on the value of your time preference (either you enjoy the present more, or you are capable of thinking of long-term utility), this self-reflection can determine the source of one’s motivation. If one is merely studying by going through the motions it will be difficult to convince oneself that paying attention during lectures (especially Corporate Finance), or even attending them, is constructive. Not to mention how this affects your human capital formation. Change is coming, with the student loan system replacing the current charitable grant system next year in the Netherlands, prospective students will have to determine at an early stage whether they are motivated enough to incur an average debt of 21 000 euro (up from the current 15 000 euro average) after completing their Bachelor. Relevant to this topic are the contributions of Professor Hein Roelfsema, who discusses the diminishing returns to university education, as well as Anna van der Schors, a researcher at the Nibud institute, who writes about her research on the budgetary decisions of consumers and students.

From the interviews I have done with numerous USE alumni, the recurring theme is that the motivation and academic skills one develops during one’s Bachelor, and especially during the Master, provide one with the backbone of necessary skills for one’s later career. Even the reports written for courses like Corporate Finance are “an invaluable experience”, says Petar Angelov, who we interviewed for this issue. However, what surprised me most about the interviews was the emphasis put on extracurricular activities by the companies where the alumni worked at. It is all about the whole package, so besides developing one’s academic skills during one’s studies, social skills development is sometimes seen as even more important. Being part of committees, sports teams or doing a board-year weigh heavily in one’s favour. One interviewee even stated (off the record) that being ‘good’ at partying is a useful skill for later on, as you develop people skills. It sounds ridiculous at first, as if being able to drown your liver in alcohol and doing some Dutch fist-pump dance-moves are indispensable skills to learn, but perhaps these social interactions somehow ease the relationship-building later with one’s colleagues. At least this should be comforting to those who aren’t in a committee, board-year or sports team and excel in the art of alcoholism.

The recurring theme of this year’s ECU’nomists has been content quality, hence we’ve relied on some outsourcing to lecturers and alumni. Junior lecturer Sergei Hoxha is also involved in this issue, writing about his research on crowdfunding networks, while former USE lecturer Petar Angelov was interviewed about his overall experience at USE and his new job at PwC. Do you want to work at a bank? USE alumni Thomas Maas and Marloes Heddema tell us about their jobs at SNS and ABN AMRO, the one following a traineeship, the other employed as a full-time Credit Relationship Portfolio Manager. Turn to page 7 where Marloes tries to explain what this job is all about. If you’re a first-year contemplating an exchange to Rome, look no further than Frank Nobel’s experiences during his LUISS exchange. We also have a contribution from Bas van Marle who writes about the Model United Nations in Utrecht. Furthermore our dedicated staff have also contributed, with Annette and Mithra delving into their home countries’ elections (Indonesia and India), while Dea writes about the tricky position of international job-seekers in the Netherlands, as well as an article on “bail-ins” for banks.

Since I will be graduating and leaving USE, I will have to unfortunately relinquish power to my successor, as being editor-in-chief means one is only a temporary dictator. Anyhow, having been part of the Editorial Committee since my first year, I can say that it has progressed from being a colourful coaster for your coffee, to a magazine with some valuable information for your studies. I have greatly enjoyed being part of the committee, so I would advise any USE student with an itch to write to join it for next year (read CV building)!

Sincerely,

Thomas Huigen

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Letter from the Board

Dear reader, The end of the academic year is coming up. The last few weeks of the year are always the hardest, especially when the sun is shining more and it’s getting warmer outside. However don’t worry, there is only one exam week left for this year! The ECU’92 Board also has a few weeks left before the summer break will start. However, this doesn’t mean that the Board can start relaxing. We are pretty busy these weeks with organizing the last activities of this year, which you will hopefully join!

Also, the candidate Board has been established during the general meeting. During the coming weeks they will write their policy plan and financial plan for the academic year 2014-2015.

In the policy plan, they will write down various policy focus points which they think are relevant for the members of ECU’92 and the association itself. The Board thinks the association is in good hands with the new candidate Board and are sure they will do a great job next year!

This also means that our year is almost over after the summer. Fortunately, the Board can look back on a fantastic year with great activities and new initiatives. Can you remember the DLC lecture with Antony Burgmans, the Buitex to Hamburg in November, the first ski-trip to France and the Business tour to London? These are a few examples of the activities organized by the committees of ECU’92. The Board wants to thank all her active members who made all these activities a success!

Furthermore, this year we have executed some of our policy focus points with success. For example, we organized an alumni symposium to increase contact with USE/ECU’92 alumni and we have started selling the famous pink summaries in order to increase the educational value offered by ECU’92. We have also tried to engage more with international students, by offering in-house days at Shell and Google and by organizing an international day in May, when we visited The Hague with freshmen students.

I hope to see you all at the activities coming up and want to wish you good luck with the last weeks of the academic year! For now, take a small break and enjoy reading the last ECU’nomist of this year!

Kind regards, Lisanne Hoekstra

Chairman of the Board 2013-2014

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S t u d e n t

F

University at a Premium

By Professor Hein Roelfsema Hein Roelfsema is the Director of the Utrecht Center for Entrepreneurship and teaches international business at the Utrecht University School of Economics. exponentially, so that they value expanding present consumption possibilities at a premium. Lastly, students may actually like their jobs, because university education provides limited opportunities for professional exposure.

My international finance lecture on inter-temporal trade starts with an analysis why students should not have jobs. It serves to drive home the insight that agents conduct two types of actions. They allocate their present budget in terms of consumption, but they also trade between now and the future. The resource is time: time spent on either expanding present material consumption (a job), or on increasing the return on investment of a future job. The latter investment can expect to have high payoffs in terms of graduating earlier and thus more productive years. But more important, investing in higher quality (expertise and grades) increases the future wage rate.

As the rate of return on investment in superior human capital is assumed to be very high, this calls for quitting the job and concentrating on studying.

Although correct and good advice in most cases, there clearly are some problems with this line of reasoning. As always in economics, the result relies heavily on the absence of market frictions, the most obvious being liquidity constraints. If students have to eat and cannot borrow (neither from the bank nor parents), then they have to work to stay alive. The second is what we would call hyperbolic preferences, in which agents discount future consumption

College Discount

Recently a stylised fact has started working against investing in university education: at least in the US the return on average university education has fallen dramatically. To address a few technicalities first, return on investments is about comparing the invested up-front sum to (the net present value of) future income streams. So, a first reason for a fall in return could be that the sum to be invested today has gone up relative to future income streams that result from it. Indeed, in the US and some European countries tuition fees have risen dramatically. To a large extent, this to my opinion is caused by a strategy that is based on the misperception that improving quality is simply about raising the perception of quality, by making use of clever marketing techniques. If we invest in expensive buildings, high-flying sports teams, superstar professors conferencing all over the world, then students are willing to pay the high tuition fee.

Although this sounds like a US style problem, it is soon to arrive at our door, for a different reason though. The Dutch parliament has passed legislation to cut the finance for students, adopting a loan system instead. This will substantially increase the up-front sum invested by the individual student. The money that is freed by reducing the subsidy to university students is invested back in the quality of education, associated with a ‘drive to excellence’ and sharper ‘profiles’ of universities. As we have no clue what this means in practice, in the short run it will probably end up in pet projects, more computer rooms that nobody uses, more quality officers, business-class trips

for the university CEO, and hopefully some benefits in the job market for the small elite of excellent students.

But it runs the risk of not improving the future income stream for the average student, and that is what matters. As we want to keep higher education accessible, there will not be big financial differences across programs, so that all students build up the same level of debt, irrespective of whether education increases their future income streams. Today there is a large emphasis on these costs of access for the average students. And on whether we should allow students to study the arts, even if the Starbucks counter will be the only future employment option.

But probably more important than the present sum to be invested and the present quality of education are the forces that erode the future income stream for the average student. The most stressed reason for the decline in the college premium is globalisation. As talent is rather normally distributed across the globe, the average wage will be the global average, which is lower than the western average. Whether the real earnings for the average students will be lower in absolute terms will depend on how much globalisation increases the total global cake to be divided. This total cake volume in turn is determined by how globalisation will allow specialisation of tasks across regions and individuals, and how it will affect innovation in the West and especially in emerging markets. But there is substantial evidence that in the medium run at least the ‘move to the global average’ will dominate and thus will reduce the college premium of the average student relative to their excellent peers as well as to their benchmark of individuals with only professional training.

But technological progress probably is even more important for lowering the average college premium. For a long period, skill-biased technological

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i n a n c e s progress has raised the college premium.

But this trend is reversing and technology (just as globalisation) is hurting white collar workers more than blue collar ones. For example, the progress of Watson (the supercomputer) makes possible that stock market advice as well as all kinds of high skilled consultancy jobs could be substituted by computers and robots. As a general line, we see that big data are now creating an innovation bias for solutions that deal with complexity, which traditionally is the domain of the high skilled white collar worker.

education is slipping down the ladder. It will continue to happen, as other countries get richer and use their often more scholarly culture to excel in research.

Technology will enter deeper into white collar work and erode the wages of large segments in consultancy and management. Inequality will rise and we will have more Mark Zuckerbergs. Where is the space to manoeuvre?

One road is to avoid the reflex to think that the solution is close to the problem: in university education. High paying jobs in the post capitalist society

Globalisation and depend most on successful technological progress can be “If we still want urbanisation that combines combined with a third phehigh skilled work, entrenomenon: superstar econom- average smart preneurship, and cultural ics. This is a situation where people to make consumption. If we think of at the individual level effort as a case in point, it the investment Utrecht can be scaled easily because is equally important to attract in univerthe fixed costs of production research based companies are low and marginal costs sity education, through the Utrecht Sciconstant. For example, why ence Park as it is to keep the when the future national movie festival based only use Paul Krugman’s book, and not also his online here. In the long run we can returns are course at a small premium? the war on talent through declining, then win Use the Watson computer for the culture of old Europe. the initial sum Tastes differ, but for a guy grading exams and use big data on thousands of students invested should from Amsterdam working to spot real talent. Krugeven temporarily at Stanford also be smaller, feels like being stranded in man can invest in branding the course and assigning a so as to increasea desert (actually it is…), premium pricing model - a sounds nice with the returns at Boston free MOOC (Massive Open the orchestra, but is sheer the margin” Online Courses) of lectures hell culturally (and the Bars, and a premium package on including Cheers, are highly interactive tutorials and an additional overrated and too commercial for our one for the Watson capabilities. The eftaste). Let alone that your are based close fects will be rising inequality: Paul Krugto the Ivy league in Arizona, Kansas City man will be even richer than he is today or the upcoming metropolis of Houston. and highly talented PhD graduates will Paris, London, Amsterdam, Utrecht; if come no further than the job of online we can move a bit towards the technolteaching assistant, if they are lucky. ogy frontier combined with creativity and entrepreneurship we should be able to The only way is down? win comfortably.

Larry Summers, the major architect behind the last 20 years of US

Moving closer to education, the economic policy making, once famously average national college premium in a said that he wanted to be reincarnated global perspective is probably not deteras the bond market. The main point is mined in university but way before that. that policy makers often do not realise There is much evidence that educational that they should be humbled by macrosystems aim the arrow at the wrong tareconomic dynamics and market forces. get. A large percentage of overall achieveClearly this is not to argue that we should ment is caused by preschool teaching. simply be complacent, but the effects of If we start building mental skills at the policy to shape wage outcomes in the age of five, children are way too old. We coming 20 years is limited. I hear policy should have a much better system that makers worry about the fact that Dutch exposes young children to high stand-

ards of music, culture, games, sports and health, although this sounds a bit like the former DDR. What about reading and calculus? Step back and ask whether that will win us the war on talent in the long run. In addition, we should stop the bleeding in the early years of secondary education, where we lose too much (multicultural) talent. In this stage we should invest in individual coaching, cultural inclusion, and tolerance of failure.

Rebalancing University Education

What can we do within university? Many changes being made today are in the right direction. Better university profiles should lead to less duplication, more choice, and further specialisation. Moving from incentives on input and output to an emphasis on quality and customer satisfaction should help.

In Utrecht we rightly go further. In the coming years, Master education will be focused on key university competences and is scheduled to be more differentiated from the bachelor. More importantly, it will be professionally orientated, recognising that the large majority of students will not end-up in academia.

Hence, there will be emphasis on connecting education to the professional environment in which students will later work, including a re-shifting of knowledge to skills. And the introduction of career centers should not be seen as employment consultancy for students close to graduation, but should aim to bring the professional world within university walls.

However, we may have to start living with the fact that whatever we do, the college premium will be declining the coming years. But let us return to the finance theory. If we still want average smart people to make the investment in university education, when the future returns are declining, then the initial sum invested should also be smaller, so as to increase the returns at the margin.

Instead of increasing the individual costs of studying, they should actually be declining. Cheaper housing, low costs of MOOCs, online courses and books and differentiation and lower tuition fees should all help. But maybe the biggest gain comes from redesigning the curriculum so that it allows students to have a proper and meaningful job.

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Happiness is Control

By Anna van der Schors Anna van der Schors is an USE alumnus who is currently employed at the National Institute for Budget Information (Nibud), researching the financial behaviour of consumers. Nibud’s goals is to promote rational planning for family finances, contributing substantially to family welfare, pursuing this goal by offering advice, information and education. Not only directly to all individuals and households but also indirectly through a wide range of professional intermediaries like public servants, teachers and consultants in the fields of mortgage, insurance, savings and loans. Individuals and households are addressed through the mass media using free publicity and products concerning family budget subjects. Nibud supports the intermediaries by means of an annual budget handbook (including a large number of reference budgets) and software. Furthermore, Nibud offers instruction facilities for these professionals.

For those of you who studied economics to earn a lot of money I’d like to dispel an illusion: money doesn’t make you happier. This is what I discovered when I started working at Nibud after studying Economics in Utrecht. It’s not that I currently earn so much, and that I discovered that it didn’t make me happier compared to my time as a student.

Rather, this finding is one of the results from all the research I do on the financial behaviour of consumers. Generally speaking, people with low incomes are as happy as people with high incomes, as long as they have an overview of their finances, and control over their spending possibilities and limits. To give an impression of what kind of life you can have after studying economics, I want to share some results of studies that I have done in recent years at Nibud.

Research at Nibud

After my Bachelor and Master in Economics and Social Sciences in Utrecht I’ve worked for six years at Nibud as a researcher. At Nibud it’s all about money. Then you notice that this is a comprehensive topic. To give an idea, there is a broad range of questions we try to answer: what is a reasonable amount

of allowance parents should give their studying children? How much does it cost you to take a shower? How do you avoid debt? Are students aware of the consequences of having a student loan?

How large should your buffer be for unexpected expenditures? How large is the maximum mortgage for a household?

How much can I donate to my child every year (tax-free)?

Besides focussing on money, everything we do at Nibud has the purpose of supporting, informing and enabling people to get more control of their money. All the research I do is to get a better understanding of how people deal with their money and their financial behavior. The results are directly applied to support consumers. I'm not only concerned with making questionnaires and analyzing SPSS data (after graduation I left Stata and switched to SPSS), I ‘translate’ (fiscal) laws and regulations in a practical way to help consumers understand what specific regulations and arrangements mean and what their impact is. One thing is certain, the research is predominantly microeconomic at Nibud: it is all about the consumer and his (financial) behavior.

Attitude more important than income for risk of money problems

This finding was a result of a study that I did two years ago. In a Dutch questionnaire we have between 18 and 70 questions about a consumer’s financial behavior and attitudes. Performing multivariate analysis to analyse whether financial problems (having financial problems

was defined as ‘having fallen into major arrears of payment at least once or minor arrears more than once’) are – as people often imply – entirely due to external factors, or whether socio-demographic factors, personal factors (attitude) and/or skills also play a part.

Some striking results of our study were: • Households with children are more likely to encounter financial problems • Age is a relevant factor: the likelihood of financial problems rises up to the age of 52, and then falls again.

One possible explanation for this is that people’s experience of money increases in the course of their lives, and so they get better at dealing with it. Up to a certain age, however, they are continually faced with new challenges that call for different approaches.

• The size of a household’s income does not affect the likelihood of financial problems, but receiving social welfare benefits does.

• Home-owners are also less likely to have financial problems than people who pay rent. This is probably connected with the household’s overall wealth.

• Taking all other influential factors into account, events associated with a drop in income or a rise in expenditure do indeed increase the likelihood of financial problems. However, this does not mean that people can’t do anything to influence these adverse shocks. Households that lose control of their finances because of a particular event turn out to be at even greater risk of financial problems.

Student Finances 5

• People who keep track of their income and expenditure, and plan ahead, are at less risk of such problems. So are people who keep specific records of their finances.

• Maintaining a savings account also reduces the likelihood of financial problems, for it says something about people’s awareness of financial facilities and their ability to make use of financial products.

• Another key factor is willingness to save. People who feel little or no need to save, and do not recognise the importance of doing so, are at greater risk of financial problems than those who do.

There are two more attitudinal factors that play a part. People who are easily tempted, or are short-term thinkers, are more likely to get into difficulties. People we define as ‘easily tempted’ are those who themselves admit that they often feel tempted to regularly buy things they do not really need and find it hard to make choices. ‘Short-term thinkers’ are those who say they ‘live for the present’ and ‘don’t worry about tomorrow’.

Over-confident Students Purchasing power calculations

Some research focuses on all

Apart from survey research, Dutch consumers, while other research I am also involved in calculating the analyses a specific group. For example change in purchasing power of housechildren in primary school, children in holds: how this increases or decreases for secondary school or students. From our the next year relative to the present. We latest research on students in universities calculate the effect of changes in laws and (for arts, sciences or applied sciences), regulations on the spending capacity of it became clear that students know little 100 different sample households, taking about the borrowing conditions for a into account the expected inflation and student loan. Half of all students are not wage growth. For example, a change in aware of the fact that you have to pay inchild allowances affects households with terest from the first day you children, but not singles. And have a student loan. Students “Half of all an increase in the retirement also don’t know what the benefit affects people over 65, students are but not the younger households. interest conditions are after their study. Nevertheless, two not aware of The nice thing about these out of three students find is that you learn the fact that calculations their ‘borrowing behaviour’ exactly how all (fiscal) legislayou have to responsible and 50 percent tion in the Netherlands works. of students do not worry pay interest about whether they will be

Altogether, doing refrom the first search at Nibud is very dynamic able to pay off their debts.

At the same time, it appears day you have and relevant to society , because that a lot of students estimate everyone deals with money a student their first salary unrealisti(issues). There is nothing better loan” cally high. At Nibud we are than having studied economics worried about that, because to do this. If you are interested students can be deceived in this topic, Goolge Nibud and when they start paying off update your knowledge about their debts. student finances!

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I n t e r

Heels and Skyscrapers: ABN Amro

By Thomas Huigen

while ING and Rabobank have general traineeship programmes. During an ABN AMRO traineeship one gets a project at a different department every three months, which one can choose oneself.

There is also space for personal development during different training sessions with fellow trainees, and meetings with the trainee-manager and mentor. Still, I did not exactly know what kind of job I was getting myself into. The fact that the atmosphere, people and the traineeship program at ABN AMRO really appealed to me meant that I decided to go for it in November 2012.

On the 25th of March I interviewed USE alumnus Marloes Heddema (24) at her workplace: the impressive ABN AMRO skyscraper in Amsterdam-Zuid. When entering the building I was met with suspicious looks from the security, not surprising seeing as the men were dressed in sleek suits and shiny shoes, while the women donned high-heels and silky shirts.

A scruffy-looking student sticks out in this environment. Standing in this immense building one comes to the realisation that the bubble world of student life cannot last forever: a serious job is awaiting all of us. So how is it being a banker, and more specifically, a Credit Relationship Portfolio Manager?

How did your board-year at ECU’92 and your USE education develop you?

I did a Bachelor at USE, with a minor in law, followed up with a Master in Economics of Competition and Regulation at USE. I graduated when I just turned 22 and felt that I was too young to look for a job. I either considered studying a second Master or I would apply for a board-year at ECU’92, as these could both contribute to my development and CV. In the end I didn’t think that a second Master would contribute much to my development, and I also realised that I didn’t want to study anymore. So a board-year seemed like the best option where I could develop myself more and learn networking- and organising skills not taught during one’s studies.

If you were to separate your academic and extracurricular development, which contributed the most to adapting to your current work?

During my studies I developed analytical thinking which is important for my current work. Some subjects were important, especially from my Master as I learned about financial institutions and regulations. But basically I had to learn completely new material during

What does a Credit Relationship Portfolio Manager (CRPM) exactly do? my traineeship. Our studies are quite economics intensive, so if one works in the business or banking world, most knowledge is obtained from on-the-job training. Still, we’re not at a disadvantage compared to Finance students, as people here have many different backgrounds with no prior knowledge in economics or finance and they do fine.

ABN states that extracurricular activities may be even more important than good grades for employees/trainees. Do you agree?

Many job interviews focus on one’s extracurricular activities, even though grades are still important. It’s about the whole package. There are many graduates roaming around so companies can cherry pick those best suited to the job.

Why ABN AMRO?

The traineeship overlapped with my general interest in financial institutions, and one can get a good overview of the different departments within a bank. ABN has specific traineeship programmes and the traineeship Financial Institutions overlapped most with my master and general interests,

That’s a good question (Marloes chuckles). After my traineeship and rotations at different departments, I started working at the department Financial Institutions in February 2014. We cover all the relationships with other banks, pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers. Within the department there is a Credit Relationship and Portfolio Management (CRPM) team and there are relationship bankers. Next to that, all teams are divided into sub-teams focusing on different geographical regions. The CRPM and relationship bankers which focus on the same region work closely together.

I’m part of the CRPM team, covering the OECD region. Currently my main focus is on a portfolio of the aforementioned clients in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

These types of clients make use of different type of products, like cash management, derivatives, trade finance and M&A advisory. The role of CRPM is to actively manage the risks associated with the different type of business we want to do with these types of clients. We make risk assessments for a Japanese bank, for example; what is the financial position of this bank, are we willing to take on this counter-party risk, what is the country

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v i e w s risk? Financial institutions are of course closely intertwined with a country’s political climate. We also make use of input from rating agencies like Fitch, Moody’s and S&P. CRPM is also responsible for relationship management for a select group of clients.

now as well. All European banks’ assets have to be gauged to see how safe their assets are and whether they need extra provisions. Like all Dutch banks, ABN AMRO needs to go through this process as well. Every project is different and there is no typical week.

The nice thing about Financial Institutions is that the department is dependent on different product groups within the bank, so you are working together with a lot of different stakeholders. You are like the spider in the web. So even though Financial Institutions is a very specialized client group, I can learn a lot about different departments within the bank as well.

How does being a working adult compare with your student days?

The job is challenging and there are different projects on the side, so I have enough to learn for the time being.

Maybe you have heard about the Asset Quality Review of the European Central Bank. That is something I am working on

Everyone is quite surprised that I’m so young and already working, especially my older colleagues. I think the main difference compared to my student days is the time factor. I usually start around 9am and end around 7:00-7:30pm during the week. In the beginning it was more tough getting used to the working week, because sometimes I came home even later, but now I’m used to it. Also the fact that one only has 20 days off per year to recharge is something one needs to accept when one just comes from university, but I get a lot of satisfaction by contributing to my team and department.

Any Advice for USE students?

Try to make use of job orientation events and talk to as many people as possible to get a better idea for what is possible after your studies. Try to be open and honest as well during interviews to be sure that a match is really mutual. I also notice that a lot of students are in a way afraid of intense selection procedures. Don’t be discouraged by this, just go with the flow and experience it as a learning experience in itself.

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Petar the Great

By Mithra Madhavan and Thomas Huigen On 10 April, Mithra Madhavan and Thomas Huigen interviewed USE alumnus and former lecturer Petar Angelov in Amsterdam. We would meet Petar at his new employer (since February 2014), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four auditors. A free-bus trip, transporting PwC and other employees to their work, brought us from the nearby metro station to the corporate complex which houses PwC. To reach the complex the bus first had to take a right into the David Ricardo street, then a left into the John M. Keynes street (which ends in the small Karl Marx cul-de-sac), finally nearing the PwC building where the Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus streets met. Besides its auspicious setting, we were interested to find out how Petar enjoyed his new job, and what his experiences at USE were like.

Why did you decide to leave Bulgaria for the Netherlands and study at USE?

Back in Bulgaria, I studied at a private high-school, which was very internationally orientated. It was more of a liberal arts school, whose method of teaching didn’t fit well with the Bulgarian university system. Hence I was quite certain from a young age that I would go to pursue my university education abroad. From the available options, the US was a bit too far and England was a bit too expensive. This selection process narrowed my choice to the Netherlands, where one has it all: studies in English, affordable prices, and a very international environment.

Due to my liberal arts education, I had varied interests and I couldn’t really choose one to focus on. In that respect, studying Economics made most sense to me as it explored societal issues from a more scientific perspective, combining in one my strengths and interest in humanities and science. USE was even a step further, and it appealed to me due to its multidisciplinary profile and the possibility to combine law with economics.

After completing my Bachelor, I did a Master in International Economics with an International Management track.

I was accepted at all the Dutch universities for my Masters but I chose Utrecht, partly because of the relationship I built

with Hans Schenk. I really liked his views and thoughts, so I decided to follow the track where he was the coordinator. I knew the quality of teaching and the lecturers, so I decided to stay at USE. I wanted to learn more about mergers and acquisitions in particular, and Professor Schenk is the leading scholar on this topic in the Netherlands, and internationally.

Why did you decide to lecture?

While I was a Master student, a temporary position opened for a teaching-assistant in the International Business Economics course, now Financial Accounting. I saw it as a challenge and an opportunity not just to earn some extra money but also gain some additional skills and get exposed in a different way to the academic environment. I liked the job, and the students appreciated me teaching them, so I had the opportunity to lecture another course until I had to start working on my Master thesis.

While I was doing my traineeship at the European Commission, I was unsure of what to do after graduation, as most of the internships I could choose from were either too short or were for small companies. I was then contacted by USE asking me whether I would be interested in a full-time teaching position. I saw that opportunity as a challenge, and also a great responsibility to contribute to USE. That is how I ended up being a junior lecturer for 2.5 years.

How do you look back at USE?

Only in a positive way. My colleagues were great and I enjoyed the interactions with the students. I also learned a lot about the material I had to teach because I had to understand it very well to teach it. I wasn’t an exemplary student during the first two years of my Bachelor studies, so this was an opportunity to catch up on the material I had forgotten or missed. Apart from all the nice aspects of teaching at USE, every job has its, albeit insignificant, downsides.

For me, grading exams was quite annoying, but it was the only thing I disliked.

Why PwC and not one of the other Big Four?

Firstly, it was the atmosphere which appealed to me when I had my interviews. I wanted to work at a large organisation, and in the field I’m interested in, PwC has the best combination of business and economics. Here, a team combines strategy and valuation, while the other firms specialise in one or the other.

What does a consultant at the Valuation and Strategy team do?

We are a team within the Advisory Line of Service of PwC. Valuation is more about corporate finance, where we value companies for accounting and tax purposes, mergers and acquisitions, and internal trading. The strategy part focuses more on the business and economics side of the firm, what is its competitive advantage, how should they enter a market, etc.

It is very much applied microeconomics.

Despite using fundamentally different techniques and methods of analysis, the valuation and strategy people work together often. You could imagine that if a company wants to enter a market, the strategy of the company isn’t the only important factor, but it is also important to quantify the effects of entering a market, so that’s where the valuation team comes in. This year I will spend six months on the valuation side and six months on the strategy side of the team, after which I can choose based on where I can contribute the most to the team, but also depending on vacancies within the team.

Within valuation, I’m specialised in the financial services sector, where

9

we deal with insurers and banks, which are a bit peculiar in the way they operate because the valuation depends on the risk profiles of the instruments which are on their balance sheets. We often help our clients first in analysing the risk profile of their loan portfolios, and then we focus on the valuation itself. The projects differ a lot from each other, as each company requires different methodologies, models and assumptions, so it’s a varied job. One has to really understand the business model of each firm, each having its own peculiarities. The scope of our projects depends also largely on what clients demand from us, which varies greatly as well. It becomes obvious that no day is alike for a consultant at the Valuation team.

Do you feel that you could apply what you studied?

Oh yeah! Valuation and strategy are two of the fields where one really has to be on top of one’s game content-wise.

So one really needs academic skills, and I’m not joking! Especially with regards to expert consultants like strategy and valuation consultants, one needs the academic skills and knowledge on a daily basis. There are many among us who are academics who apply cutting edge models for our analyses, and there is a constant improvement in the field, so we care about academic research. To facilitate learning and development, PwC has its own PwC Academy, an Advisory University, and a multitude of internal specialized courses. Specific for the Valuation team, we have an Executive Master program, which most of my fellow colleagues have followed. One can really observe a constant drive to gain more academic knowledge and skills among PwC employees. The big firms also allow a larger scope for personal development, and colleagues who have worked here for

more than 25 years still take courses to develop themselves.

What are characteristics of a good consultant?

In a sense consultancy is not that much different from lecturing: the job of the consultant is to educate the client what the problem is and the best approach to solve it. One has to simplify a complex problem into simpler parts so that the client can understand how to use the advice for their success. We write many reports, the kinds students have to do for their courses, so I really can’t emphasize more how important the mastering of academic skills are.

The number one quality is that one has to be a team player. Characteristics like individualism and arrogance or over-confidence are not appreciated, and will also hamper the person’s personal and professional growth. The success of the team is one’s own success, so being able to work towards achieving the goals of the team is important. A team allows people to learn from each other and solve problems in an effective way through constructive criticism. Furthermore, people-skills are all the more important in a consultancy job because PwC’s assets are not the buildings that we work in, but rather the relationships we build between clients and colleagues.

How did your academic view of the private sector change from first having to teach the models, and now witnessing the real life world in which the models play out?

I’ve always been realistic about the applicability of the models we taught.

I did a lot of internships during my studies, where I saw how things worked in reality; that books can give one a foundation and tools to understand an issue, but at the end of the day each problem has its own idiosyncrasies where one can’t apply a one-size-fits-all solution. The solution needs to be tailored to the specific problem. To tackle a problem, one needs to make subjective decisions and judgments to solve it. One cannot just open a book and expect to solve a problem, but one can use theories as a means to solve the problem. For instance, in economics, it is assumed that a variable exists in a model, but in real life, although we have all this Big Data, a certain variable that is fundamental to a given model may not be measurable. Besides this, even if we used a cutting edge model to show the client the optimal solution, it still might prove useless if the client cannot understand it and apply it for the success of the company.

Do you have any advice for USE students?

Learn from your mistakes. What distinguishes an excellent team member from an average one is the ability to acknowledge your own mistakes, ask for feedback and help, and correct those mistakes as soon as you can and in the best manner possible.

Try also to explore, both yourself and your environment, and be proactive in your exploration. Seek interaction and learn to be comfortable when out of your comfort zone. This will increase your chances of meeting new people and the more people you meet, the more connections you have that can prove useful later in life. Lastly, the first impression matters, because it often lasts and you only get to make it once. So make sure you are impeccable and well prepared, especially in a professional sense. Signaling matters!

10

for (SNS) Reaal

By Thomas Huigen What does the SNS traineeship entail? mathematical background which only some of my “Pure Finance” colleagues On the 27th of March I interviewed USE had. At USE you’re also taught the basic alumnus Thomas Maas in Cafe Broers after understanding of real economics, instead his work. Arriving in jeans, sneakers and a of only investment courses. This gives sweater he had been working at home, the one a broader perspective. Still one is left reason being SNS’s “new working” regulawith a slight disadvantage in financial tion whereby employees work at home once knowledge, but this can be scratched up a week. After its nationalisation SNS Reaal on during one’s job. will be split into an insurer (Reaal) and bank (SNS), the latter being where Thomas Were you part of any committees? is doing his traineeship. We settled for a beer and delved into the world of banking.

Many! I did the activities-, department-, and faculty council comHow did your USE education prepare mittees; I organised the company day you for your career? and introduction week; and after that I did a board year at ECU’92. I think all of

I studied the International these helped develop me; besides “hard” Economics Master at USE, choosing the academic skills learned during one’s Financial Economics Track. This sounds studies, one also has to develop “soft” like a Finance Master, but it isn’t like the skills by being able to work with people. one they have in Rotterdam, because Many companies find these skills more the Masters at USE are more economics important. I think for instance that my related. This is however not a disadvantage. board year contributed more to me being Due to the economics emphasis during accepted for the job than my cum laude. my Master and Bachelor, I had a decent

The traineeship lasts for 2 years, and is comprised of 4 projects each lasting 6 months. One gets to view the workings of the company within a short space of time, meeting many people and orientating oneself to the different jobs within SNS to get a better idea of what one wants to do later within the company. After I graduated from my Master I wanted to go into banking, but there are so many options within this world. So it became important to understand this world better, and that’s what a traineeship offers. It gives one insight into what one can do, is good at and would like to do. There are also many opportunities to develop oneself, with extra courses and personal development trainings. They really want trainees to become aware of their talents and shortcomings in pursuing their ambitions. Once a month we have external coaches and psychologists who interact with us and teach us how to deal with people and their physical attitude, a salient skill as 80% of communication derives from body language.

Interviews 11

The first project I did was at the Pricing Management team, which dealt with all the prices within a bank, like savings and mortgage tariffs, which all need to be priced according to the models we have. Prices include the behaviour of our competitors, because if their’s are lower, we don’t sell anything, so the prices include both external and internal factors. This project really taught me the commercial pressure within the financial world, because when one studies economics or finance one reasons from within the model: what are the costs and what should be the price to cover these costs. But what if your competitor has lower costs than you, then they can sell at lower prices and out compete you, what’s your strategy then? It’s not that simple in the real world, one can’t just set a price and hope that everything will be fine in theory. Commercial pressure means things get more complicated.

Why SNS specifically and not another bank?

I researched all of the Dutch banks when searching for a job. Three things stood out at SNS. First, when I entered the SNS building I had a special feeling, in comparison to for instance Rabobank; it all seemed familiar. They also have a “new working” regulation at SNS, where one can work at home some days on one’s laptop, so the atmosphere appealed to me. Second, SNS was recently nationalised due to its financial troubles.

At my traineeship interview they asked me how I thought banking should be

done. So at SNS there was space to solve problems and work at a bank which was redesigning itself. SNS has used its seemingly poor position as an opportunity to change the way it does banking, and it has subsequently challenged the way other banks operate. For instance, when one has money on one’s savings account one receives low interest rates, but when one goes into the negative one pays very high interest rates of some 10%. Obviously borrowing money will cost you, but at SNS they questioned why these interest rates were so high and they have tried to change this. Third, the traineeship is extensive and longer than others, which are mostly only 1 year long, and where there is little space for learning as the projects are only 3 months long, almost like an internship. So it enables one to understand the workings of a bank, as well as a rigorous personal development programme which many of the other traineeships at other companies don’t have as extensively.

to the work hours, I have a 40 hour week contract but sometimes I work longer because I’m eager to learn.

Advice to USE students?

One has to work on both “hard” and “soft” skills. Analytical thinking is important, but one also has to be able to convince others of one’s ideas and express oneself. A company isn’t helped by an employee who is only smart, but by one who is smart and can convince others of the value of their ideas. Also, never forgot that one has to bring something to the company. Students are often just happy when they get a job, but the company should also be happy with them, so they have to work at developing the company further and not be complacent. Also, USE alumni are pioneers, so it’s up to us to help USE go forward by putting its name out there. In this sense we have a greater role to play than at other economics faculties.

How is the work environment, because you mentioned that you sometimes work at home?

One is even supposed to! For every full time employee there are only 0.6 work spaces, so it means that on average one has to be one day at meetings and work one day at home. The reason for this approach is to make sure that all offices are constantly used instead of being vacant. I really like this because the monotony is broken of going to the same desk every day of the week. With regards

12

Out with the Bailout, in with the Bail-in!

Ever since the blow up of the global financial crisis of 2008, which left the world in shock and revealed its financial sector’s fragility, the public’s expectations for policy makers have run high.

They hoped to see real changes in the policies regulating this sector, and for the most part, were let down. Policies which would change the face of the banking sector and bring back the public’s trust in the economy, turned out to be meagre reforms at best: mediocre attempts to please all, without really changing the status quo. That this is still the case is apparent from the fact that the banks and other financial institutions that nearly brought the global economy to a crash six years ago, are still very much the largest, most important building blocks in every country’s economic foundation.

It is therefore no surprise that any new policy regarding the reform of the financial sector brought forward by policy makers is met with skepticism and distrust from the public. The same was true for the latest regulation approved by the European Parliament earlier last month, which is another step in the European Union’s path towards the creation of a Europe-wide banking union. The new legislation includes the creation of a bank-financed bailout fund, protection for bank deposits lower than €100,000, and the option of a bank bail-in, where shareholders and creditors, rather than taxpayers rescue the bank. It was received with hesitation from experts, who expressed their beliefs in the media that the reforms were doing too little to really change the framework. And while a healthy dosage of skepticism is acceptable and even necessary, credit must be given where credit is due. The new reforms, which aim at taking the burden of saving banks from failure away from the taxpayers’ shoulders by not allowing government bailouts, are certainly not the panacea to the many problems of the financial sector, but they are a sure step forward.

If there is one thing that all actors in the economy seem to agree upon, it is the fact that the existence of systemic banks, with an amount of assets larger than the GDP of countries in their balance sheets, keeps being a real, debilitating threat to the economy. Not only has the size of their assets increased in the

last years, but according to research by the Fed, they enjoy lower operation and funding costs and are able to take bigger risks than their smaller counterparts.

This is an indicator of two main issues: firstly, that any government faced with the imminent failure of one of these banks would be hard-pressed not to perform a bailout. In fact, as the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers showed all of us the hard way: simply letting them fail is not a smart move, as it would have a devastating ripple effect on the economy at large.

Secondly, depositors and investors alike are aware of this fact and still believe that in the proverbial hour of need, the government would come to the rescue of these banks and use taxpayers’ money to save them from bankruptcy. Despite policy attempts, such as the Frank-Dodd act signed by president Obama in 2010 that aimed at making such bailouts less believable, the fact that these banks face no real competition and are still chosen by big depositors over smaller, more sustainable banks clearly shows that the threat of letting them fail is not even remotely credible.

This is one of the problems that the introduction of the bail-in concept into banking legislation aims to solve.

The idea behind a bail-in is to have bank creditors, such as bondholders and big, uninsured depositors share part of the burden in the case of a failing bank, by writing off part of the banks’ debt, and turning it into equity. This would reduce the liabilities of the bank, without the necessity of government funding. As such, this solution does not do away with the existence of large systemic banks per se. Neither does it go a long way to reducing the probability of a bank failure.

However, it introduces a twofold beneficial effect: on the one hand, it levies the burden of paying off banks’ debts from the hands of the governments. On the other, it transfers the risk of losses from government to the pockets of the investors, which would hopefully make big banks less of an attractive alternative.

Depositors will have to think twice before they put their money in these institutions, as there is the chance that in case of a failure they could see it all confiscated and turned into equity.

That someone would be able to suddenly put their hands on depositors’

By Dea Tusha

money and simply be able to confiscate it may sound to many like outright theft, and when this role is performed by the state, the thought becomes even more disturbing. In fact, the first application of the bail-in concept in the banking sector, which was done in Cyprus last year when its banks were on the brink of bankruptcy, was met with such claims and protests from the public. Legislators had to put in capital controls, still in force today, to prevent potential bank runs and capital leaving the country. Indeed it was a messy affair that has left the country ailing one year later, despite some signs of economic recovery in sectors such as business and tourism. But that is exactly why introducing the bail-in as a legal solution for dealing with bank failures in bank regulations across Europe would prevent such intricate, confusing and uncertain scenarios from happening again.

The clause of protecting deposits smaller than €100,000 allows common depositors to still find banks a safe option to allocate their savings, while it sends a message to bigger depositors and bondholders that they need to share part of the risk for their investments.

Although praised by policy makers, the concept of bail-in stands in an uncomfortable middle way, receiving attacks from both sides. On the one side, there are those who think that conducting the bail-in is going too far: it messes with the creditworthiness of banks and may lead to their downgrading and to an increase in interest rates. And while the increase in interest rates could slow down the already weak European economies, having big systemic banks reflect riskier, less attractive options may well be worth the price. On the other side, there are those who think it is not enough: the bail-in still allows big banks to exist and undertake risky investments. To them, the only way out would be to significantly increase the capital requirements for banks and thus lower their leverage. That is of course the final aim, but as the last six years have shown us, the politics at play make it easier said than done. The fact of the matter is that the introduction of the bail-in is nothing more and nothing less than a good first step, which helps to slowly start changing the way the financial sector is perceived and works.

More such steps need to follow.

13

The Dutch Mob in Rome

By Frank Nobel Frank Nobel is a third-year student who did the USE-LUISS exchange for a year.

That is what the Romans once called us in Rome, “The Dutch Mob.” They all knew at least one Dutch person in Rome, be it an intern at the Dutch embassy, a Dutchman learning Italian for a year, a Master student or one of the 30 USE-LUISS exchange students. This will be the fourth ECU’nomist article about a foreign exchange this year, illustrating the exchange possibilities of our Bachelor.

After Hong-Kong, Vienna and Berkeley, in this article you will be brought to ‘la bella Città’ Rome, the most beautiful capital of Europe.

While I was in Rome, I did not realize the many advantages of studying at a private school such as LUISS Guido Carli. In retrospective, I think the exchange year added a lot of value to my education. First of all, we had more lectures than in Utrecht, but with a maximum of 40 students. This created a much more personal way of teaching, and made it easier to ask questions to the lecturer or guest lecturer (e.g. a senior director of structured finance at S&P London). Secondly, LUISS has good and beautiful facilities. Yes, the computer and study rooms are always full during exam months (more in the next paragraph), especially if you are allowed to reserve a spot at 09:00 for your friend who will ‘probably arrive around 14:00’. Nevertheless, there was a canteen at which you could get a three-course lunch for €3,10, and in your spare time you could play foosball and ping-pong, or relax and enjoy the sun at a beautiful terrace with a cappuccino. Which I did. A lot. Thirdly, the school provides you with activities outside of the regular curriculum. You could follow a free Erasmus language course, follow a two-day public speaking seminar, or engage in the ‘Dutch Italian Business Challenge’ , where you had to solve a business case for companies like Shell, Air France-KLM and TNT-post.

The exchange program is officially the minor ‘International Business Economics’ and is a joint program with LUISS Guido Carli. It is the only one-year exchange program created to fit in a three year bachelor program, and therefore has

undergone some changes to improve this fit. The biggest change was last year, when the period abroad was changed. Before, the period abroad was the second semester of the second academic year, and the first semester of the third academic year (so one calendar year). Since last year this became the whole second academic year.

The change mainly had a financial advantage: the Erasmus grant is only obtainable in one academic year, so could now be received for the whole ten month period, and you did not need to rent a house in the summer months July and August.

Next to that, there are also changes in the courses taught, and by whom they are taught, but the focus is still on business economics courses.

One year is divided in two semesters in which you follow four courses for three months. Then there is a two month period in which you have three possibilities to take the exams.

If you want to do nothing, or you did not do anything during the first three months, you can spread your exams over the two month period, and have enough time to study for. But, if you planned your exams cleverly, you could have a Christmas break until mid-February, and summer holidays from the beginning of June. Most of the exams were oral, which is quite an educational experience.

I preferred the oral exams more than the written exams, as these were noisy, with special Whatsapp groups where Italian students could communicate about the answers, and seats were ‘taken’ by notes, summaries or books.

There were some things I had to get used to in the beginning of the exchange. Italians don’t go out if it rains, and if you want to meet with them at 21:00, expect them to show up at 21:30.

So the strict Dutchman in me learned to relax and not to worry about time. Unfortunately, the public transport thinks that way as well. You can wait for an hour just to see two busses arrive at the same time (the reason I bought a bike). Though I could not live in Rome forever, I miss the ambiance of Rome. The weather, biking trips, relaxed life, caffè, aperitivo, food and football. All was amazing in Rome. I learned a lot about Italian food, and taught others about ‘chicken-satay’, I played the coolest Erasmus vs. Italy games at courts on a rooftop, and went to a lot of football matches of S.S. Lazio and A.S. Roma (including the final of the Coppa Italia). The main difference in the nightlife is that a lot of it happens outside; you just buy some beers and go to a crowded piazza. Furthermore, Rome is very diverse: if you want you can also go to (beach)clubs, do a pub-crawl at Campo de’ Fiori, or go to an Irish pub for karaoke or sports.

Throwing a coin in the Trevi-fountain during a high-school excursion ensured my return to Rome. I’m sure the one I threw in last year will have the same effect, as I will definitely return to Rome. It was one of the best years of my life, so I would advise everyone to go at least one semester abroad or to go at least once in your life to the most beautiful capital in Europe, Rome.

14

Ik spreek geen Nederlands, but do you have a job for me?

Congratulations! You’ve made it! You are studying Economics at one of the most prestigious universities in Europe. For many international students, this alone is a source of pride and a reason to feel confident about their future. And why shouldn’t it be? According to international rankings, the quality of the Dutch higher education system was ranked seventh worldwide, and no less than eight of its universities regularly appear among the Top 100 university ranking lists globally. Upon returning to their home countries, many students will rightfully feel endowed with a valuable asset. If however, following your graduation, you plan to find a job in the Netherlands (perhaps because you like the standard and way of living, or because you appreciate the business culture and work ethic, or even because you have just grown to love the Dutch weather), a fair warning: things may not be as easy as you would hope.

With the Netherlands being such an internationally oriented and open country, this could come as quite a shock to many. After all, the country is host to some of the largest, most famous international companies (Shell, Philips and Unilever come promptly to mind).

But alas, a few companies do not make a labour market, and the labour market overall seems to be demanding less workers nowadays. According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, unemployment in the Netherlands has been steadily increasing in the years following the 2008 crisis, reaching an all-time high in February 2014 at 8.8%. While it is surely far from the most troubled European countries in this aspect, the rising trend in unemployment can be a source of worry for both nationals and internationals looking for a job.

They Took Our Jobs

It also does not help that the sentiment towards immigrants all across the European Union at the moment is lukewarm at best. Besides the scepticism towards the EU as an establishment, the significant increase in popularity in the latest European Parliament elections of right-wing parties with anti-immigration policies in their political agendas is also indicative of the Europeans’ stance on

By Dea Tusha

immigration issues. And while the far right Dutch Freedom Party actually lost support in these elections, there is still some lingering resistance among the Dutch people towards the idea of immigrants coming to the Netherlands and taking hold of low-pay jobs for lower wages. Statistics on high-skilled foreigners on the other hand seem to show a different story. While the employment rate for high-skilled foreign-born residents in the Netherlands is around 77%, the same ratio for natives is around 88% on average for the last seven years.

fail to notice altogether until it finally hits us: the Dutch language! For a country that rightfully claims to have 80% of its residents speaking English, you might not expect to find that not speaking the country’s language could be a problem.

In fact, for most of the students who only plan to stay here temporarily, that is often the case. You can lead a perfectly normal, non-isolated life without knowing more than a simple “Hoi” or “Dank u wel” throughout your entire stay. But the situation is different when it comes to finding an actual job in the Netherlands. Dealing with local clients, writing reports and Foreigner Hassle presentations and even con“You can lead a ducting market research is often

Why the constant required to be done in Dutch. perfectly nordifference? While there may And that is to be expected: the be many different factors mal, non-isolat- level of English required to for it (and as usual, you can everyday business in ed life without conduct attribute half to statistical the Netherlands is already much knowing more higher than in most other counerrors), research, experience and anecdotal evidence has than a simple tries. The requirement of Dutch led me to two answers. Firstcompanies to have Dutch“Hoi” or “Dank speaking employees becomes ly, there is bureaucracy. It is simply too much of a hassle u wel” through- even more obvious during for Dutch companies to hire days: during the out your entire recruitment international staff, unless the last career day organized by the job specifically requires that. stay” university, you could count the This is even more the case number of companies recruiting for internationals outside of international students on the the European Union area, who need a fingers of one hand. Rather than a poorly work permit to work in the Netherlands. done job by the organizers, this simply Clearly, if it was left up to employees reflected the obvious fact that Dutchto procure one, everyone with enough speaking students were more in demand. interest to find a job would do so. But the law requires the employer to apply for a

So, if you are thinking to emwork permit for a non-Dutch resident brace the Dutch way of life for at least a and he or she is also required to prove while longer and are trying to improve that no Dutch applicant was suitable for your chances in the labour market, do the job. Hiring internationals without a yourself a favour and learn the language. work permit would result in a substantial As an international there is not much you fine for the company. This certainly does can do about the first barrier, but you can not rule out the opportunity of finding do plenty about the second. It may not be a job as a foreigner: enough skill, talent the easiest language to learn, but it surely and maybe even luck could land you a is fascinating. And there are many coursgood position; but it can still serve as a es you can follow, some of them even for disincentive, especially when there are free. A last bit of advice: no matter how possibly many Dutch or EU citizens who hard your Dutch fellows will try to be are just as qualified and do not pose these polite and talk to you in English, to make barriers. it easier for yourself, resist the temptation to take the easy way out and rather tell Hoi, that’s all them: Ik wil gewoon Nederlands praten.

The second barrier is one that we usually tend to forget about or even

15

Digital Crowdfunding

By Sergei Hoxha Sergei Hoxha is a Junior Lecturer at USE and writes about his research on crowdfunding networks.

Collecting small amounts of money from a large number of people has a rich history in many domains. If we trace back time, concerts and new music compositions by Mozart and Beethoven were financed with money from interested patrons; the Statue of Liberty in New York was funded by small donations from the American and French people; through the campaign “Buy this Satellite” a human rights organization is trying to raise money in order to buy a communications satellite to provide Internet access to people in third world countries; and Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign raised most of its funds from small donations over the Web. Today, several hundred global intermediaries with online platforms exist to match up consumer investors with initiatives they wish to help fund.

Called “crowdfunding,” this relatively new form of informal venture financing allows entrepreneurs to directly appeal to the general public (i.e., the “crowd”) for help in getting their innovative ideas off the ground. Crowdfunding involves an open call (through the Internet lately) for the provision of financial resources either in the form of donation, or in exchange for some form of reward in order to support initiatives for specific purposes. In general, crowdfunding communities differ in terms of whether the funder’s primary motivation for participating is the expectation of a financial return. Prominent examples in the popular press include the narrative movie project by Steve Taylor that got almost 4,500 people to contribute nearly $350,000, and Scott Wilson’s idea to create a wristband that will convert an iPod nano into a watch raised over $940,000 from over 13,500 individuals. One of the largest crowdfunded projects to date is Eric Migicovsky’s E-Paper Watch that integrates with an Android or iPhone. That received donations totalling over $10.2M from well over 65,000 backers.

Crowdfunding Flavours

The types of crowdfunding can generally be distinguished depending on

the kind of reward that the backers agree to receive upon giving their contribution. The first type is the donation-based crowdfunding, in which the backers donate money to support a cause, for which the backer is satisfied with any sort of non-financial gratitude in the form of a gadget, a special mention or any other pledge gratuity. The second type can be considered the credit-based type (also known as peer-to-peer lending or crowd-lending) in which the backer lends the money and receives an interest rate in exchange. In this case the money is pledged in the form of a credit loan. The ited investors. In Italy, the government third type is the reward-based scheme, not long ago announced the legalization in which a backer receives a reward with of equity-type crowdfunding, giving a go well-defined monetary value in exchange to platforms like those in other countries. of the pledge. The fourth type, which is Yet, a series of additional reforms are also the closest type to venture capital needed to improve crowdfunding as a funding, is the equity-based crowdfundviable financing tool for today’s new ening in which the backer receives shares of trepreneurs. These rules could a company in exchange of the be polished in such a way as money pledged. As in equity “One of the to increase efficiency of these shares, in this case the money largest crowd- portals and help both sides is pledged in the form of risk receive all information needed capital on how well the project funded projects to further capital funding. goes. However, the creditto date is Eric There seem to be some areas based type of crowdfunding where improvements could be Migicovsky’s is gaining a big share in the made, such as the profitability financial intermediation types. E-Paper Watch of the project.

Simplifying the Crowd

that integrates with an Android or iPhone. That received donations totaling over $10.2M from well over 65,000 backers.”

In the digital era of the 21st century, funding projects by the support of the backers is becoming much easier through these virtual platforms. As a matter of fact, equity and debt crowdfunding-types have already sprung up around the world. The crowdfunding market in Britain could be considered as one of the most robust ones, with Crowdcube as its most famous platform.

As of late 2012, it had successfully funded 29 equity ventures for the equivalent of $6.8 million. Other notable equity based platforms include Symbid in the Netherlands, WiSeed in France and the Australian Small Business Offerings (Assob), which also allows small investors to ask for investment capital alongside accred-

My area of interest regards the dynamics of the network of backers from their formation until the project is finalized. The trend of this network formation seems to depend on many levels on the type of crowdfunding. One could imagine the equity-type backers to support the project not for the final product or service but rather due to self-interested motives. This could in turn have an effect on the spread of information amongst backers and in their network formation. The effect could very well be conditional on the moment of deciding to participate up to the existing support of the project. All in all, crowdfunding is leading to entrepreneurs receiving credit more easily, providing an opportunity for new innovations to pop up around the world.

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Model United Nations

By Bas van Marle Bas van Marle is a third-year student who was part of the Utrecht University MUN delegation 2013/2014.

Utrecht University Model United Nations (UUMUN), an organization that might sound familiar to some but could be new to most students at USE. What is the organization all about?

What do these students do? And why should I be interested? Wonder no more as all of these questions will be answered to you in this article. UUMUN is a highly competitive student-led organization that has been selecting some of the most ambitious and internationally oriented students from Utrecht since 2005. Each year UUMUN provides seventeen students the opportunity to visit two of the most prestigious Model United Nations conferences in the world: Cambridge and Harvard. UUMUN also organizes lectures and a number of events such as the Race to Diplomacy, the Race to Cooperation and since this year the Road to Rights.

MUN is a simulation conference similar to the United Nations in which students participate as delegates to various UN committees. Each student gets assigned a country: during these conferences the task is to promote the interests of your country as best as possible. The final goal of such a conference is to pass a resolution supported by a clear majority of countries. MUNs have been organized for decades (the first model League of Nations was in 1927 at Harvard University), and have grown in size and reputation ever since. The idea is that students, as they are not prejudiced or constrained by political alliances, are able to come up with innovative solutions to international problems and dilemmas. At Harvard MUN the range of issues this year varied from the political situation in Burma or Myanmar (all part of the issue), to water sanitation and cyber-security.

This might all sound a bit overpowering, so let’s start by explaining what Model United Nations is all about.

During these conferences students cooperate in order to reach concrete solutions to these international

issues. Students debate, give speeches and lobby in order to represent their country best as possible. This can lead to some pretty intense politics during these conferences, including all the dirty schemes and tricks that come with it (stolen USB sticks are no exception).

Utrecht Represent

Since 2005 the University of Utrecht has been represented at these conferences by sending a team of ambitious students that have an interest in international politics and diplomacy.

During the first few years this team used to consist mainly of law students. Fortunately there seems to be a change as the new delegation consists of students from very different backgrounds. Last year USE had two students in the UUMUN delegation (Kristina Hutzler and Bas van Marle) and the 2014/2015 delegation will have three students from USE (Gijs Kerstjens, Bas Vaandrager and Wouter de Waart).

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In November the delegates took part in the MUN at the University of Cambridge and in February we spent two weeks in the United States to compete at the MUN of Harvard University. The Harvard conference is also combined with a complementary week in New York in which we paid a visit to the actual United Nations Headquarters and the permanent Dutch representatives that shared their experiences in the field with us. Of course there is also plenty of time to explore this beautiful city together with your fellow delegates.

At the actual MUN conferences it is not all serious business. An important aspect is meeting students from all over the world that have a common interest in international diplomacy.

Harvard and Cambridge MUN attract students from all continents; this creates a very pleasant international atmosphere. Besides the formal setting during the committee session there are various social events such as drinks in the Hilton, casino nights and formal dinners in the college halls of Cambridge.

Training

The MUN conferences have a competitive character as there are also prizes to be won. In order to optimize our performance there is an intensive training schedule that all members take part in. These training sessions combine the skills of public speaking, lobbying and resolution writing and are provided by external trainers such as EU lobbyists, but also by members within UUMUN and former UUMUN delegates. Much emphasis is put on these trainings and workshops as a key point of UUMUN is to encourage the personal development of its members.

Besides developing the skills of UUMUN delegates we also organize events for others. The three key events are the Race to Diplomacy, the Race to Cooperation and the Road to Rights. The Race to Diplomacy is organized for law students and provides them with training at several law firms followed by a final event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Race to Cooperation is a full two-day

event where high-school students get to participate in workshops and a day of MUN. The third event, the Road to Rights, had its first edition this year and focuses on human rights; workshops are given amongst others by UNICEF and Amnesty International.

When we are not busy with training and organizing events there are enough other fun activities. There is an introduction weekend, dinners, sailing day, date-dinner, weekly drinks, and alumni events.

When I add all this together it sums up to a great year in which I met great people while training my own skills and organizing events for others. If you are interested in being a part of the UUMUN delegation you will find more information on www.uumun.nl.

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E l e c t

Archipelago Elections

By Annette Aprilana

Recently an Indonesian politician was caught on camera giving cash to supporters during a rally for his party.

After the rally, a reporter asked him if he wasn’t buying votes, to which the politician responded “Of course not! I always give money or food to the people who need it, it has nothing to do with politics”.

Compared to the Netherlands, elections in the world’s largest Muslim country work a little differently.

Indonesia is home to nearly 250 million people, making it the fourth most populous country in the world, and with its presidential elections taking place in July, it’s a country to take note of. With over 700 indigenous languages and six official religions, the plethora of ethnic groups make elections run along ethnic lines. The first president of Indonesia, Soekarno, was a strong advocate of nationalism, and adopted Unity in Diversity as Indonesia’s national motto. From 1945 to 1998, only two presidents led Indonesia. The two men in power were Soekarno and his successor Suharto. During his 20-year period, Soekarno’s priority was to protect his people from being conquered again, which was the reason why he was against imperialism. Suharto differed from Soekarno in that he came to power due to his military background and led the country in a military style.

However, a lot has changed since these two authoritative figures stepped down.

Although there are imperfections, such as the anecdote in the beginning, in general democracy today runs very well in Indonesia. It’s not easy to manage 250 million people and still have a well-organised election. Taking the April parliamentary elections as an example, Indonesia’s voter turnout is at 75.2%. Considering that elections are not compulsory, this is a high participation rate compared to 57.5% in the US for the 2012 presidential elections.

The Parties and their Candidates

There are now 12 political parties, which was not the case during Soekarno’s time, with only three. The rise in democracy has allowed the nation to set up new political parties with great ease. In 2004, 24 parties contested the national elections and in 2009 the number rose to 38. In 2014 however, only 12 parties contested, as these are the only ones who passed the requirements set by the General Elections Commissions.

Armed Forces. During his time as a military officer, Prabowo was allegedly linked to some cases of human rights abuse.

Although this is an issue of the past, it has reappeared amongst talks due to his presidential candidacy.

What major economic policies need to be addressed?

Indonesia’s economy has been growing steadily over the past decade, from an annual average economic growth rate of around 5% in 2004 to 6% in 2014.

Its growth rate over the last decade has been at a steady 6% average. As South East Asia’s biggest economy, the country is expected to be an even more important economy in the world. To move forward, this year’s presidential election is the crucial turning point for Indonesia’s further growth and development.

Indonesian election laws state that a party must win 25% of the popular vote in April’s parliamentary election to nominate a presidential candidate by itself. Currently, not a single party was able to achieve this, thus the necessity for coalitions. But the results show that the top three parties listed in order of highest popular votes are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Party of the Functional Groups “To move (Golkar) and Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). forward, this The presidential race now naryear’s presirows down to only PDI-P and dential elecGerindra, whose respective candidates are by far the most tion is the popular ones among Indonecrucial turnsians across the archipelago.

ing point for

One of the central issues that has always been a hot topic of debate is the fate of the fuel subsidy. Last year around June, the government decided to raise the price of subsidised fuel. The result of this decision was mass protests in the streets, not to mention that this is what led to the fall of President Suharto back in 1998. The social unrest is a threat to investors but the policy is necessary to curb both the budget and current account deficit.

The one person that Indonesia’s stands out from the rest of further the candidates is the popular Jakarta governor Joko Widodo growth and (in the picture), universally developknown as Jokowi. He is the candidate from PDI-P and is ment” seen to be a breath of fresh air

The fuel subsidy costs for Indonesian politics. Many the government around $30 revere his clean track record and handsbillion annually. This is the main cause on approach in running the city of Solo, for the budget and current account defiof which he was previously the mayor of, cits, which in 2013 were 2.2% and 2.9% and the hectic capital city Jakarta. of GDP respectively. This amount could be spent on improving the country’s

Jokowi’s main contender is infrastructure or on more economically Prabowo Subianto, founder and leader beneficial programs that can provide of Gerindra, who is still polling behind increased security and an improved Jokowi. Prabowo is a businessman and business climate for investors. Unfortupolitician, as well as a former Lieutennately, current president Susilo Bambang ant General in the Indonesian National Yudhoyono (SBY)’s Democratic party has

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t i o n s decided to be more generous with regards to fuel subsidy cuts, fearing a backlash at the polls.

This year’s presidential candidates have to be mindful regarding the sensitive subject of fuel subsidies for the upcoming July 9 presidential elections.

As of now, the two popular parties have differing views as what to implement.

Prabowo insists the fuel subsidies should remain, but that measures should be reinforced to ensure only the poor receive the subsidies. Jokowi on the other hand told local media that he would gradually reduce the fuel subsidy throughout a four to five-year period.

Will the business climate improve or worsen?

endemic in Indonesia, tainting political parties and business practices. Its ranking is 120 of the total 189 countries for ease of doing business. Prabowo and his party have campaigned for these for a while, and I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Den Haag where Prabowo discussed them. Jokowi on the contrary was only appointed by PDI-P chairwoman and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, as a presidential candidate in March, and hasn’t announced definitive policies yet. The only policy Jokowi has brought forward is the cut in fuel subsidy and the channelling of this money to the poor and infrastructure. Nevertheless, with both parties improving the country from within, Indonesia will indirectly become a better and safer place for investors.

It may be disappointing that thus far both Prabowo and Jokowi have not placed foreign investment as a priority in their agendas. Both parties are very focused on improving the country from within. Prabowo and his party have addressed three threats that need urgent attention: corruption, income inequality and religious intolerance. Corruption is

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Is this the Happy Ending India was looking for?

By Mithra Madhavan 815 million eligible voters, over 100 million first-time voters, 1.4 million electronic voting machines, 930 000 polling stations, 200 000 security personnel, 8251 candidates, 543 Lower House seats, 9 election phases and costing $5 billion.

It is no exaggeration when one says that the Election Commission of India was facing its most organizationally challenging election yet in the 2014 general elections. Most definitely, this is not all there is to the chaos and complexity surrounding the election process in what is proudly called the largest democracy of the world. However, the dust seems to have settled, given that this election has resulted in the largest landslide victory since 1984 with an absolute majority and where the incumbent party was defeated.

What caused such a drastic change of mind? Is this simply a result of utter disappointment in the Indian National Congress (INC)? Is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory truly a reflection of hope in a reformed India?

The INC and its coalition government, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) have been facing what can be called a credibility. Here is a party that played a pivotal role in the Indian Independence Movement of 1947, where the Nehru-Gandhi family became the faces of hope and reform. Representing a dynasty of some sort, Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and the projected Prime Ministerial candidate of the INC for the 2014 elections, Rahul Gandhi, seemed increasingly stale and lacking charisma in their governance methods. A declining economy, rampant corruption along with the silence that was observed by India’s leaders at times when they needed to be the most outspoken, are some factors that have been working against the UPA. Given his economic qualifications, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was perceived to bring about massive economic reform while being unaffected by the “dirt� in Indian politics. No doubt, India has seen steady and rapid economic growth under PM Singh. However, a rising fiscal deficit, a declining growth rate, and incompetence in policy reform in times

of corruption scandals and massive social activism among the Indian public has marked the downfall of the INC. Scam after Scam Three scams stood out most among all the noise- the Commonwealth Games, the 2G Spectrum and the Coal Block.

The Commonwealth Games controversy, to describe it briefly, was the billions of dollars that were spent on this event, whereas India still has the largest concentration of poor people in the world. The 2G Spectrum scam was based on the allegations that several government officials had undercharged some major telephone companies for frequency allocations, while receiving a bribe for doing so. The difference between the money that had been collected and the amount based on the legal obligation was about $30 billion. Lastly, the Coal Block scam was one where the government was accused of inefficient allocation of Coal Blocks between 2004 and 2009, being influenced by corrupt motives. To add fuel to the fire, the mass protests that took place

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under Anna Hazare, an anti corruption activist, meant that the public was not going to be silenced, and this time the media was on their side. The Government modifying Hazare’s proposal of the Jan (people) Lokpal Bill, an anti-corruption bill, and calling it the Lokpal Bill was another incident where the leadership of the INC had the chance to take a clear and strong stance, but failed to meet expectations. Moreover, there was increasing frustration among the Indian public regarding women’s safety, where several cases of rape and murder had come to the forefront. Again, there was disappointment in the leadership.

The India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, although gaining the heights of publicity and media coverage, had one major flaw.

There were differences between Hazare and Kejriwal regarding whether or not the fight against corruption should be a political one. On one hand, Hazare believed that politics and the India Against Corruption movement should be kept strictly separate. Kejriwal, on the other hand wanted direct political involvement. This led to the creation of the Aam Aadmi (translated as the ‘common man’) Party (AAP). The basis of creation for this party was understandably a source of hope for honest politics. Kejriwal went on to become Chief Minister of Delhi overthrowing the INC candidate Sheila Dikshit. However, failure to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill due to alleged unconstitutional procedures, the view being supported by the INC and the BJP, led to the direct resignation of Kejriwal as Chief Minister of Delhi. As one would imagine, calling Kejriwal’s resignation a ‘disappointment’ would be an understatement.

From Rags to Riches Sure enough, the two parties that the BJP could consider as competition had been crumbling under pressure, but what makes Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate for the BJP gain such heights of popularity as an individual? Maybe the first plus point is that he shows signs of being able to communicate an opinion (no matter what it may be), as opposed to the “silent” Manmohan Singh. Also, the prospect of a Prime Minister with a sense of humour doesn’t hurt anyone. In times of disappointment

he expresses that change does not happen fast, and that progress is the goal and ultimately, the tipping point will be reached.

His journey as a worker in a teashop to entering politics and becoming such a noted figure is something that is considered commendable. In a country like India, a story describing a rags-to-riches journey could become a strong point of connection to the average Indian. Also, here is a leader that we have seen in the public eye as Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat for a record 12 years. Despite receiving a large amount of criticism regarding his alleged inaction during the 2002 Gujarat riots, which killed around 1000 people, Mr. Modi has managed to thrive. Another factor, which might be constitutionally unjust, is that in a nation where the population is 80% Hindu, it is crucial that in order to win the country over, this 80% has gained confidence in its religious and social-political representation. Call this entitlement, pride, or even hypocrisy. Truth is that secularism still is, to a large extent, unaccomplished in this country. Do these factors mean that Mr. Modi is the ultimate candidate?

Has India made the right choice? Naturally, only time will tell, but I reckon it won’t take too long before we find out.

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London business tour

By Peter Scheer & Nadine van Wilgenburg

The London Business Tour (LBT) started at Utrecht Central on Sunday morning at 10:15. After arriving 15 minutes late myself, the Study Trip Committee introduced each other and prepared themselves for a week of head counting and guiding us through the metropolitan of London. They had obviously prepared well and had a feel for students for they gave each of us a booklet which included some very important information: where we were heading, food stores within a 10min radius for every day, and some background information about the companies themselves.

We arrived at the “Walrus Hostel” around 17:00 and proceeded to our rooms. The committee had cleverly booked 2 rooms, one for approximately 25 people and another for 6, which just so happened to be their room (as if the rest of us were going to be loud or immature). Claiming beds went quite smoothly for most; Thomas Lentz being almost a foot taller than the bed itself was less amused, but apart from this all was well.

There was no reason to complain with regards to the hostel’s location.

A four minute walk from London Eye and eight from the Big Ben meant we were at the heart of the city centre. So once the beds were claimed, our experienced London tour guide Sander Bouw gave us the first impression of London. A beautiful city, clean, a wonderful balance of both old and new architecture which uniquely complement one another. The weather, in contrast to what one may expect, was lovely: a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius for a week which only enhanced the whole experience.

The first day included a trip to the London School of Economics and Bloomberg. So there we were, 28 students dressed to impress walking through London. Well, half the guys with brown shoes (which apparently are almost exclusively worn by Dutch people in combination with a suit) and the girls with sneakers which would be substituted for heels at the doorstep of every company. Peter: “Personally, I wasn’t looking for a Master programme in London, so it didn’t

appeal to me as much, but it was clear that everything was prestigious and well organised”. We had the opportunity to meet up with Maria Zhivitskaya, a former USE student who was two years short of obtaining her PhD at age 22. An inspiring girl, who pleasantly stated that the education at USE is actually very good in comparison to other universities, including the prestigious London schools. The difference being that these universities in London have the connections and provide for a lot of training in CV writing and being able to stand out from the rest.

Nadine: ”In contrast to Peter I am very interested in continuing my academic education and I want to do a PhD as well.

I have met and worked together with Maria during our Bachelor so it was nice to catch up and helpful to get some advice about becoming a PhD student”.

Blooming Nice

Bloomberg was amazing. The first floor, which everybody passes through, is one big free food/snacks/ drinks palace. Being a Dutch group,

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this obviously appealed to all of us. The aquariums everywhere looked very nice and we found out that there is a funny story behind it. Apparently in the early days of Bloomberg, the CEO gave every new employee a fishbowl with a goldfish on their desk. As the company grew this tradition became too difficult and so they placed big aquariums in the buildings.

The company itself was also nice, very open, less hierarchal and a very interesting place to work at first glance. Currently looking for German speakers, two of our group members may well have some potential to secure an internship there.

Our first day also included a visit to the Ice Bar, which was very cool with regards to temperature and atmosphere. Being surrounded by ice, having cocktails in ice glasses while getting to know each other better was a perfect way to end the day.

The second day started off with a visit to another university, the London School of Business and Finance. Besides providing information about the university and their programs, they had arranged a lecture about the financial crisis by Dave Coker, a former investment banker who is now finishing his PhD. Although it started off as a lecture, it became more of an interactive discussion in which we discussed the financial crisis and related topics. Therefore, this visit was interesting for everyone regardless of any interest in applying to a program.

Into the Wild

That afternoon we would visit JP Morgan and all of us were very excited about it. Indeed, we were able to have a look into the London jungle of investment banking. It is a unique, intense and tough world. You have to be able to work very hard, very long days, and love your job. 80-100 hours a week is not the exception! It is also very hard to get in that world where we learned that you have to sacrifice many things (like a personal life) if you want to make it there. That made us think about what it is you really want from life. A career in London at a top ten firm might sound like a great thing but you have to be up for it.

On the third day we visited Lloyds in the morning. Most of us knew Lloyds had something to do with insurance, but it was interesting and surprising to find out and understand the special role this company performs. In fact, it is

not really a company. One part of Lloyds facilitates a high quality market for insurance and the other part oversees and supports it. In our modern and technological advanced age, Lloyds has managed to keep some old traditions in place, which was very charming. And the unique style of the building gave us also food for discussion afterwards.

Day four included a visit to AIG and a visit to BNP Paribas. Peter: “AIG I found very interesting. The committee had arranged for an important individual to come speak to us and it was clear from his behaviour and the way he talked that he indeed had an exceptional knowledge and experience from within the field”.

BNP Paribas was also very interesting.

Perhaps not the first bank one thinks of when speaking of investment banking but certainly one of the big players.

Several departments had prepared a small talk about their daily activities.

It is a different culture to that of JP, less American, not so much driven by short term profit. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to give up your life to work here!

The formal drinks were a great time for socializing and networking. About six BNP employees for different sectors were there to answer all our questions and each told their story with enthusiasm and excitement. The major conclusion one could draw after having visited both BNP Paribas and JP Morgan would be that if you enjoy analytical work and tasks and don’t mind a 80-100 hour week, get into investment banking in London because that’s the place to be for you! Otherwise, stay clear and admire or joke about the guys that do. That evening, we went to a typical English pub in the centre of London. Several live bands played their tunes and they were all equally brilliant.

Needless to say, after a few pints we were all jumping up and down to the beat screaming along as if we were Freddy Mercury himself! Amazing, an epic night not soon forgotten.

Our last night in London ended with partying at the Ministry of Sounds, something we had been looking forward to! Accompanied by Jacob, a nice Australian guy working at the bar in our hostel who got us on the guest list, we danced through the night in the several halls this club had to offer. Each hall had a different type of music and it was fun to check them all out. That night we had so much fun and couldn’t believe how fast this week had passed.

On Saturday it was time to go back home. Surprisingly after the previous night we all managed to be ready to leave on time. Despite the fact that we had a long journey ahead of us, the NS causing many delays, we had fun looking back on the amazing week we had!

On Good Friday, all the companies had a day off, that meant that we had a day off. Some went to a museum, others simply strolled around town, whereas others still went to a football match. It was a very nice day off where everybody got a different perspective of London but all equally wonderful. It is very hard not to enjoy this city! The parks look amazing, the museums are free, the transport is so easy and quick that we didn’t even miss our two-wheeled vehicles.

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