Graeme Finch
Treasury & Prudential Risk Analyst
Why did you apply to work at Bath Building Society?
I came back to the UK after a five year stint abroad – my partner (now my wife) and I settled on Bath and set out to look for new roles. My mum worked at multiple Building Societies over the years and, when I mentioned a role had popped up at the local Society in Bath, she strongly encouraged me to go for it. She made a great call, the Society has a wealth of friendly and knowledgeable people, and the entire mutual sector is a great sector to get involved in.
How has your career developed since you’ve worked at the Society?
I started off in our Savings team, working in both the Branches and remotely to support the Society’s savings customers. I then applied for a role in the Compliance team, gaining qualifications and learning about governance, risk and compliance in financial services. The role was varied and allowed me a lot of freedom to support both the Savings and Treasury departments.
After a secondment back to the Savings team to help manage the transition of the new Bath Online platform, I moved across to the Treasury team. I’ve learned a huge amount even in the short time I’ve been in the finance team, and I’m also due to start a new qualification which I’m really looking forward to!
What’s the best thing about working for Bath Building Society?
The people who work here are what has always made the Society a great place to be – everyone’s friendly and welcoming, and there are people who really do go above and beyond to help. It’s also a great place to learn – being a smaller organisation means that you can have much more impact in your day-to-day job than you might elsewhere, and greater exposure to the how’s and why’s of decision-making is very helpful in building your knowledge and making you feel like a core part of the Society’s successes.
What does a good day look like in your role?
For me, building knowledge in my role is still really important – having that ‘eureka!’ moment when you get the how and why of something is always a plus. Beyond that, days where you get involved in new things are great; for me it’s been strategy and budget modelling lately, and it’s been like learning a whole new set of skills.
How would you describe the culture?
Our colleagues are kind, thoughtful and welcoming – where people can, I’ve always found that they’ll do their best to help and guide others. I would say that the Society is also ambitious, but not at the expense of what makes us great. We’ve geared ourselves to improve the Society’s efficiency and profitability over the next five years, but we still do everything we can to empower and look after our colleagues.
What does your role involve?
I work in the Society’s Treasury function, with a particular focus on managing our assets, liabilities and key prudential risks. I also support on areas such as the Society’s budget, supporting strategic business decisions through MI and analysis, and the production of some of our prudential and regulatory documents.
What’s been your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far?
Being called on to support the Savings team during our online platform relaunch was a hugely rewarding task. It was hard work, but working alongside the team and being able to offer support directly was a real highlight. It was also nice to get back to working closer with our Members and help them successfully navigate any issues they were having.
Being nominated as the Colleague of the Quarter was a proud moment for me – I put a lot of stock in the supportive and friendly culture that the Society has to offer, so it was lovely to hear the positive feedback and endorsement of that culture for the work I had done from colleagues around the Society.
Being able to build my prudential risk knowledge in the Treasury team has been a big achievement this year. I’ve learned a lot already, but studying for my qualification is going to help build it up even more!
What’s not in the job description, but something you’d tell a friend if they were thinking about applying for a job at the Society?
The Society really supports personal progression. If you’re motivated to pursue something, I’m yet to work in a team within the Society that hasn’t worked with me to help and support wherever they can.
Describe Bath Building Society in three words:
Supportive, collaborative and ambitious!
