Internships at Central Banks (Europe)

I'm a 1st-year student in an MSc in Finance in Europe. I'm curious, could an internship at the European Central Bank or at a National Central Bank improve my chances for IB in London? My potential roles in both banks would be one of the following: Macroeconomics / Financial Research / Monetary Policy.

I could do both roles in different months in 2023 if that helps.

4 Comments
 

I imagine it’s certainly very good experience on your CV and useful for some aspects of banking, but something like private equity or M&A, boutique IB is much more relevant. You’ll most likely be competing against other MSc Finance candidates from Europe that have several internships, often in these areas.

Depends on whether an ECB internship is perceived as less useful than PE/M&A/IB or if it stands out as something different and more interesting, I think it could go either way depending on the bank/interviewer. If possible, and you seem to indicate you have both for two internships, maybe combine it with another internship in one of the other areas?

 

Might make you an “interesting person” for London recruiting, given all else constant. However if you’d be recruiting within DACH/France, people are more interested in direct relevant experiences (IB/PE) on your CV and you may come across as a policy guy(?). But could still be interesting for investment/asset management firms rather than M&A shops.

 

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