Career Heroes - Alex Danailov

Tell us more about you

I’m originally from Bulgaria, and I’m currently finishing a BSc in Finance at Queen’s University. I completed an industrial placement at FinTrU in 2022.

In my free time, you’ll find me playing video games, going out with friends, or riding a longboard across town. I also enjoy travelling, exploring different cultures, and learning new languages.

What kind of work do you do?

During my placement, I gained experience as both a Document Negotiator and a KYC (Know Your Customer) Analyst working for a global investment bank.

New financial regulations come into force every year that require changes to be made to thousands of financial documents. As a Document Negotiator, I drafted updated versions of Trade Agreements between an investment bank and its professional clients. I used IT systems to verify a client’s information and make changes if required. I read a lot of legal texts and increased my knowledge of current and upcoming regulations.

KYC (Know Your Customer) is a growing field in the financial space that fights money laundering by verifying the identity of people accessing the financial system (for example by opening a bank account or trading stocks).

As a KYC Analyst, I collected information on various customers of an investment bank from around the world in order to verify their existence, their structure, and their business. I conducted research on each business through public registers, company reports, and other sources to determine who controlled and owned them. By having to analyse customers from various countries, I learned about how business laws and financial regulations differ across the world.
I was based in a modern office in Belfast, though I mostly worked remotely from my home office using company-loaned equipment.

How did you become a Junior Analyst?

As part of my degree in Finance, I had to undertake a placement year at a company or financial institution. I didn’t have an interest in banking or insurance, but I wanted to gain exposure to the regulatory field. Modern advances in financial technologies mean that the complexity of financial crime, and the need for regulation to counter it, has never been higher. I ended up landing a placement at FinTrU, where I gained the experience I was hoping for and learned a lot in the process.

If you could do-over, What would you do differently?

I would say doing internships and industrial placements are probably the best way to start your career in a certain field, as you can get your foot through the door while getting a sense of whether a certain job and company suits you.

Otherwise, I’d recommend looking out for careers fairs, insight days, or other events that showcase different jobs, as those are potentially very useful. If you come prepared, ask insightful questions about the work, and learn about the company’s culture from their employees, you can see if a job would be a good fit for you.