Our Interns: RACU students discuss their internships

HELEN ARYASOVA
I am a fourth-year student at RACU. I am engaged in an internship at Delta Credit Bank, a bank that serves as a mortgage lender. Because mortgage lending is a relatively new service in Russia, it is not as developed as in European countries and the United States. The mortgage lending niche is still being developed; in fact, Delta has only one major competitor, Raiffeisenbank Austria.

Delta Credit Bank is regarded as one of the major Russian banks. The bank has been working in the United States and European countries for ten years. For the last three years, the bank has worked in Russia in the sphere of mortgage lending.

My internship is in the Closing Department. My responsibilities include assisting specialists in concluding contracts with clients, preparing borrowers' application packages for credit, and meeting with clients.

The bank has a well-organized team of professionals. The corporate environment contributes to my development of career skills for this type of position. In addition, the flexible work schedule enables me to combine my work and studies.

*****************************************************************************************

ANNA CHULKOVA
I am a second-year student at RACU and I have had a great opportunity to work in an internship at the Delta Credit Mortgage Bank. I have worked in the bank for five weeks and I feel like this is something I want to do as my future job.

At the end of April I had an interview with several specialists from this bank. Following the interview, I was invited to be a student intern with the possibility to eventually become a probationer (trainee) in the bank. Delta Credit has a very interesting policy for recruiting specialists for their bank. Most of their employees have come from the Universities as a fifth year students, often with no other work experience. The company believes that the positive, optimistic attitude that the young people bring creates a unique work environment that is appreciated by many of the Bank's partners.

To briefly summarize the bank's activity, Delta Credit is the only bank in Russia specializing in mortgage loans. The bank operates in Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg, and has four different mortgage programs, three of them well developed. Delta credit issues loans from about $15,000 to $500,000 for a set term of 10 years at a 15 percent variable rate depending on the borrower's credit rating. Borrowers must pay a deposit of at least 30 percent of the apartment cost, and fulfill certain insurance requirements.

Delta Credit received its own funding from several international sources: the U.S.-Russia Investment Bank ($20 million), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank ($40 million), and our local City Mortgage Agency ($69 million). Just recently, General Electric purchased 30% of the company's stock. GE's investment gives Delta Credit Mortgage Bank many new opportunities on the Russian market. Among the opportunities made possible by GE, employees will receive professional training outside Russia in Europe and North America, including seminars with GE professionals in Delta offices. The bank hopes to expand its credit line very soon and open offices in other major Russian cities.

My duties in the bank include several tasks. I work in the department where the mortgage deals are actually made and contracts are signed with the notary public. I started by doing the paper work of sorting, checking, and filing documents on the apartment, its seller, borrower, and co-borrower. I checked that all documents were in order, completed, and signed properly, making notes of any missing documents or information. Sometimes when there was no other work to do, I would sit and watch the initial interview with the client and listen to how the agent explained fastest way to complete the credit process, which can be quite lengthy in Russia. I also attended a seminar for realtors who help the bank to find apartments for clients to purchase.

Overall, the internship has been a very useful experience for me and I now clearly see that the knowledge received at RACU has practical applications and is much appreciated in the workplace. Having found the value of my education through my internship experience, I have a great thirst for knowledge that I didn't have before.

*****************************************************************************************

EKATERINA ZAICHENKO
I am a third-year student at RACU. I have been working in the Sales Department for Delta Credit Bank since May 2003. This Department is engaged in consideration of a borrower's application package for credit, its conformity to the established requirements, and granting of credit. My job involves the preparation of documents for a borrower's application package and verification of the documents with a checklist. The knowledge I have gained as a student at RACU helps me to manage my work, to understand the guiding principles behind my work, and to grasp mechanisms of crediting as a whole.