Mario Q.
About me
| Mario Q. | |
| Economics and Related Studies | |
| Economics | |
| Research Postgraduate | |
| Wentworth | |
| 2007 | |
| Italy |
My employment
| Head of Unit | |
| European Banking Authority | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Government and civil service | |
| Medium-size business (50-249 employees) | |
| 2011 |
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A day in the life of a Head of Unit in the United Kingdom
Assessing risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector
My career goals when I graduated
I liked the idea to work as public servant.
My career history
I started working for Banca d'Italia in 1998 after my graduation in Italy. I mostly worked as economist in banking supervision and regulation. I am currently on unpaid leave with Banca d'Italia, where I am a director.
In 2011, I moved to the EBA, where I started as principal bank sector analyst. In 2012 I got the Head of Unit position.
What has helped my career to progress
The Ph.D. in York (which I started when already working for Banca d'Italia) has been a game changer. I learnt econometrics, advanced economics....and how to deal with a multicultural environment.
How my studies have helped my career
I would say that studying Econometrics at York has been very important. Today, you cannot be an economist without at least some understanding of quantitative tools.
What surprised me about my career so far
I started my studies in a small town....I would have never thought I would have worked for an international organisation.
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I would love to know - but I do not.
Not sure I can say that, but I would have liked to be in an European UK. Unfortunately, I will need to leave....
My advice to students considering work
You can (and should) choose to study what you like the most. But do it well, especially if you choose something not too demanded by the job market.
My advice about working in my industry
Be prepared to be open-minded....and patient.
What I do
I am the Head of the Risk Analysis Unit. The Unit is responsible for monitoring market trends and identifying risks and vulnerabilities in the EU banking sector. The Unit's main products include the quarterly Risk Dashboard and the annual Risk Assessment Reports. The Unit is also in charge of developing the methodology for the EU-wide stress test as well as of coordinating the execution of the exercise, which provides a forward-looking and comparable assessment of the major banks across the Single Market. We carry out thematic studies on EU banks and the annual supervisory benchmarking of banks' internal models. In addition, we are involved in data management for the EBA – from the drafting of supervisory reporting standards to the management of the process for collecting, quality checking and exploiting supervisory data. This includes cooperating with the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Finally, my team is in charge of the EBA transparency strategy, including Pillar 3 assessments and drafting of guidelines as well as the organisation of the EU-wide transparency exercise.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Working for Europe requires technical as well as soft and negotiation skills. A good University background is crucial, but it is very much learning by doing.
What I like most
Working with colleagues and stakeholders from 28 different EU countries...and understanding every day that diversity is the strength of Europe.
What I like least
Sometimes, you need to compromise.
What surprised me most
This is more or less what I expected.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Mario’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Mario a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Mario to be your mentor.