What I learned after leaving a big bank

It's been a little over two-and-a-half years since I left Standard Chartered Bank after 14 years that spanned working in London, New York, Dubai & Uganda, and across corporate banking & trade finance. My last role there was Regional Head, Diamonds & Jewelry for North America and Africa, and when I could see that Standard Chartered, like other international banks, was pulling away from that sector, I decided to join a corporate finance boutique, Dfin, that specialises in the diamond industry.

I have been reflecting on my experience and here are three key things I learned:

Practical application of risk didn’t match my banker’s theory

Like most bankers (except perhaps those that have spent time in workout), I had a theoretical approach to risk. After I experienced the different perspective of representing corporate clients facing challenging situations with their banks, I realised that many of the things I used to hold true (for example "we should be fine because we're fully-secured and we have the personal guarantees") tend not to stack up when push comes to shove.

Alternative Capital isn't as risk-loving as I expected and Banks still hold the cards when it comes to providing liquidity

When my favourite credit officers would throw me out of their office for proposing something they considered too risky, I used to think "I'm sure a private equity or hedge fund would lap these higher-risk deals up in a heartbeat, perhaps at a slightly higher rate of interest". Now that I have had the chance to interact with a wide range of alternative providers of capital, whether it be seeking loans on behalf of clients, or for the various initiatives our firm was looking at, I know this isn't true. There are indeed some innovative pools of capital out there but I learned early on that the funds are very focused on protecting their downside risk, more so than I experienced in banking; and without the natural liquidity a bank has, the interest rates they need to make are much higher, and their liquidity is less flexible - it was a nasty shock to realise that most funds can't do the revolving funding that I took for granted whilst at a bank.

There's lots of cool stuff going on outside of banking

Making a change allowed me to see the business world with fresh eyes and feel re-energised. I've had the chance to meet a lot of interesting people and get involved in some really cool things, for example I've recently become an advisor to a startup called Nivoda that's building a B2B Marketplace for Diamonds & Jewellery. I've been able to use my banking skills and industry experience to help make a difference to what Nivoda is doing, and it's something I probably would not have got the opportunity to do otherwise.

Would I do it all over again?  Absolutely! It showed me a different side of the coin.

Whatever's in my future, if I end up back in banking again, or otherwise, taking a step outside is a great experience and one I'd recommend to anyone from the banking world.

Have you had a similar experience to me? What were your key learnings?