What is the Opportunity?
SMBC hosts a 12-month Industrial Placement Programme for penultimate year students who will have the opportunity to work on teams, be exposed to significant firm-wide projects within their respective business areas and support a range of deals with our clients.
Participants in our Summer Intern Programme will work on a variety of projects including building financial models, developing client presentations, conducting research, and participating in client meetings – all to improve their understanding of the global banking industry.
Who We Are
SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 150 offices and 86,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. In the EMEA region, SMBC has more than 2,000 employees across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a presence in key financial centres including London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid and Dubai. Through its regional network, SMBC provides a wide range of banking and financial services to corporate, institutional and sovereign clients across the EMEA market.
Built upon a foundation that leverages the perspective of more than 400 years of history, our Japanese heritage affirms a sense of honor and commitment that is increasingly rare in the financial world. Our deeply-held values of service, respect, and integrity are present in everything we do. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, we offer a range of commercial and investment banking services to our corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. We connect a diverse client base to local markets and the organization’s extensive global network.
As we continue to grow our presence in EMEA, SMBC is looking for talent to support our business goals. We encourage ongoing professional development and the success of our employees as SMBC continues to service its clients around the globe.
Why SMBC?
We are a market leader. The evolution of SMBC’s products and services is driven by the ever-changing needs of companies across the globe in every industry sector. SMBC takes market-leading positions and has been consistently recognized in the banking industry for providing outstanding financial services.
Our corporate relationships are built on trust. To successfully navigate an uncertain economy while also capitalising on the opportunities that rise, clients count on SMBC to take a long-term view that emphasises stability and attention to the numbers. This approach has served our clients well.
Our competitive advantage:
- A strong client base with broad coverage of the Fortune 500
- Worldwide operations enable us to provide clients with global solutions, make SMBC the leading choice for EMEA businesses expanding in Asia
- A solid balance sheet and conservative approach.
What is the Opportunity?
We are looking for Placement Students to join either our back office of front office roles such as;
Front office: teams across corporate investment banking, structured finance solutions and global markets
Back office: human resource, communications, legal, project management, audit, finance (tax, reporting), compliance, risk, data, IT, sustainability
How Our Programme Works
Our Programme is designed for penultimate year students.
This 12-month placement commences in July and includes:
- Induction
- Becoming a valued member of the team
- Senior Speaker Series
- Social networking activities
- Monthly skills session
- Volunteer Day with a local nonprofit
Would you describe yourself as:
- Passionate and curious
- Can you work well in a team and inspire others with your ideas?
- A conscientious, dedicated individual with excellent analytical skills and rapid comprehension?
- Having exceptional written and verbal communication skills?
- Highly organised, detail oriented, self-driven, and motivated?
If yes, you’ll thrive on working in a highly collaborative environment with some of the best minds in banking.
We recruit highly intelligent individuals who are ambitious and adaptable. Our people have degrees in many different disciplines from across the world so even though good levels of numeracy are important for some roles, you don’t necessarily need a formal mathematical or financial background. We have a comprehensive training programme that will give you the technical knowledge you’ll need to build a career with us. Above all, we’re looking for entrepreneurial people who thrive best in a diverse culture where innovation and agile thinking thrive.
The successful candidate will possess or demonstrate the following personal and professional attributes:
- Students looking to apply to the 2027 Industrial Placement Programme should be undertaking a year in industry as part of their degree
- Eligible students will be graduating in 2029. You will be in your penultimate year
- Excellent academic record
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with specific ability to communicate concepts and ideas concisely and defend their validity
- Outstanding ethics, integrity, and judgment
- Intellectual curiosity
- Unrestricted and unlimited right to work in the UK
- Available to start in July 2027
SMBC’s employees participate in a hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles.
D&I Commitment
SMBC Group are proud signatories of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter.
At SMBC, we connect the diversity of our employees to the resilience of our firm. We strongly encourage an inclusive environment so that our staff can be their authentic selves and fully thrive in their roles. It is our belief that diversity is not only about demographic differences but also of thought, knowledge, skills, and culture. The acceptance of such diversity strengthens each one of us and is essential to the success of our firm. We are deeply committed to attracting and retaining a high-performing, talented, and diverse workforce.
As equal opportunity employers, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. As inclusive employers, we are open to exploring flexible and agile working patterns as appropriate.
We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds and communities. Reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process will be offered, if required, due to a disability or health condition.
What’s on offer?
- £30,000 base salary
- We also offer a sign-on award to support you as you embark on your placement year
- We offer a competitive benefits package to support all employees through important life stages, including:
- Private medical insurance
- Hybrid working
- 25 days annual leave (pro-rated)
- Subject to standard performance reviews and available positions, placement students may be considered for a Full-Time role in 2028.
What's Next?
Help us learn about you by submitting a complete application by the 5th of October. We reserve the right to close applications earlier if we receive high interest. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible as we start conducting assessment rounds ahead of the deadline.
How to Apply?
We have a simple application process consisting of 3 stages:
- Complete the digital application including your CV
- You will be invited to complete the situational judgement, numerical and verbal reasoning assessments and online interview.
- If successful, you will be invited for a panel interview consisting of two meetings
- If successful, you will receive an offer to join our industrial placement programme
