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James Downey recently joined Macquarie’s Dublin office as a Credit Risk Analyst in the Risk Management Group. James reflects on his own journey to the company and highlights the ways in which worlds collide through his love of football and his work.
James Downey studied Finance with Economics at an undergraduate level and post-graduate degree in Finance at Queen’s University Belfast before beginning his career at a small, private equity company in Belfast.
James joined Macquarie’s Risk Management Group in 2022. He tells us, “70 per cent of my role is supporting traders and salespeople on new business opportunities, with the other 30 per cent dedicated to tasks such as policy and framework development that continue to support Macquarie's recently established entity Macquarie Bank Europe (MBE).”
James is part of a team that manages the credit risk associated with the commodity trading and loan portfolio of over 300 European corporate clients. “Since I started, I have been assigned a client on every trading desk that Macquarie has in Europe— including gas and power, oil, metals, foreign exchange, futures clearing or those more debt-related, like loan securitisation; it’s very diverse.”
This variety was part of what attracted James to Macquarie.
When I joined the Credit Risk team, I started with a wide range of clients, but more recently I have been able to move towards particular sectors that interest me."
Early on, the securitisation side of Macquarie’s work appealed to James, as it incorporates the company’s sports finance interests.
“We focus mainly on football, providing funds to clubs, based on player sales. I am a huge football fan.”
“It’s hard to overstate how interesting the work is - I analyse each club we are involved with to make sure that their financials profile remain solid and consider various performance scenarios.”
Even when he was younger, James kept an eye on the bigger picture by developing his commercial awareness, and he feels that this has placed him in good stead in his role at Macquarie. “Movements in the football market affect our clients considerably, so having a broad overview becomes more and more important.”
James also enjoys the opportunities to travel that Macquarie offers, recently visiting one of the company’s Sydney offices to attend a training course with 40 credit risk analysts from around the world. “It gave me the chance to meet the rest of my cohort and ask questions of the more senior business and risk people there.”
James is already bringing his experience at Macquarie to new starters, acting as a buddy to recent graduates, and talking to students at career fairs about potential careers at Macquarie.
Asked what advice he gives to new joiners, James says to “be inquisitive, take the opportunities offered to you, and demonstrate your enthusiasm for your job by getting as involved as possible, through networking and internships.”
Speaking of life in Dublin, James tells us, “I have always enjoyed Dublin and was attracted by its diversity and vibrancy as a mid-sized city. It’s a great place to live, and I really enjoy the laid-back atmosphere.
A lot of companies are moving their operations to Dublin post-Brexit, so there is a large incoming business community here. It’s an interesting change, and great for the city’s economy. Macquarie’s Dublin office has the same kind of friendly character as the city itself.”
Macquarie is increasing its presence in the city with a growing headcount, and this gives me the chance to pass on some of the things that I have learned at the company so far to new starters. And it’s an exciting position to be in."
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