Earlier this year, DePaul finance students had the opportunity to take part in the real-world, experiential learning Banking and Credit Analysis class developed and taught by finance professor, Martin Essenburg. In this hands-on class experience, students learn about the finance industry, hear from multiple banking professionals, and participate in a case competition hosted by one of the partnering banks here in Chicago. Even with the ongoing challenges of the online learning environment, students had the opportunity to network virtually with industry professionals from Bank of America, Byline Bank, BMO, CIBC, Fifth Third, First Midwest, JPMorgan, and Wintrust. Students spend the first five weeks of the class focusing on the course curriculum and learning how to do financial modeling, and the second half of the class applying what they have learned in the context of a four-step case competition.
The 2021 winter quarter banking case competition was hosted by banking professionals from Fifth Third Bank. The 5-week long case competition portion of the course began with students pairing up in teams of four, along with a student coach that helped to guide the team. Student coaches for this winter quarter course included finance students Christian Babo, Jose Garcia, Emilio Guzman, Claire Jossart, Sydney Le, Annie Nyqvist, Ivaylo Paounov, Jevaughn Thompson, Jose Rivera, and Daniel Weber. Upon successful completion of this banking class and a related internship, students who are headed to careers in banking are given the opportunity to volunteer their time as student coaches, helping to prepare the next group of students to present to the industry professional judges.
During the weeks of preparation, a variety of senior and junior Fifth Third Bank employees provided instruction to the students through the lens of industry and their professional experiences around qualitative and quantitative risk analysis/metrics, what it takes to have a good loan proposal, and what careers in banking entail. Mark Hoppe, Regional President for Fifth Third Bank Chicago, kicked off the experiential learning by welcoming the students and providing an overview of the competitive banking landscape.
For this particular case competition, students were required to create a loan proposal for a food processing equipment manufacturing company that is undergoing financial restructuring and then present it to the judges. The loan proposal included detailed term sheets for multiple loan facilities, financial analysis of both historical and forecasted operating performance, as well as downside risk evaluation and analysis. Students researched risks and mitigants, industry competitors, industry suppliers, as well as this particular industry itself and many other detailed factors, to try and give their respective teams the upper hand in the competition. Students also built various base case and stress case financial models, forecasting out income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and enterprise value, all in an effort to optimize the dividend recap loan, yet still protect the lenders.
At the conclusion of the competition, the winning team included Viktoriya Ulman, Jayshil Thakkar, Nihal Gunda, and David von Kampen, and was coached by Jose Rivera. Viktoriya Ulman is a sophomore majoring in finance and accounting and will be interning with Fifth Third Bank this summer in the Middle Market Commercial Banking sector. Jayshil Thakkar is a junior majoring in finance and management information systems (MIS) and will be interning with Ernst & Young in Risk Consulting. Nihal Gunda is a senior majoring in finance and is hoping to have a career in Corporate Finance. David von Kampen is a sophomore majoring in finance and eventually wants to go into consulting. Lastly, the winning team’s student coach, Jose Rivera, is a senior majoring in finance and is an upcoming Credit Analyst at BMO Harris. Viktoriya attributes the team’s win to their even distribution of effort and the collective contributions from the entire team.
Winter quarter judges from Fifth Third Bank included: Colin Griffin, Farhaan Hassan, Seth Heape, Brittany Hughes, Michael Jaklic, Skylar Levine, Dahlia Mijarez, Jennifer O’Neill, Kristine Parker, Kunal Patel, Patrick Smith, and Nia Weems, with Nia Weems and Kristine Parker having the privilege of judging the winning team.
Seth Heape, Fifth Third’s representative on the Keeley Center advisory board and one of the judges, and Kristin Moore, Human Resource Coordinator, coordinated this whole experience with Professor Essenburg. When asked what motivated Fifth Third to agree to host this experiential learning exercise and case study competition that involved some 23 different Fifth Third bankers, Seth Heape responded “Fifth Third Bank has had such a close partnership with the Keeley Center and DePaul University over the past several years that participating in the real-world, experiential learning Banking and Credit Analysis class just made sense. Not only did it increase Fifth Third’s visibility with undergraduate students potentially seeking a career in banking, it provided a form of experiential learning that is second to none when it comes to a real-world financial modeling /“a day in the life of a banker.” The class provided us the ability to build share of mind for Fifth Third with students interested in banking while giving us the opportunity to identify future talent. Overall, it was an excellent forum for Fifth Third employees to give back by mentoring and guiding students while sharing their expertise and experience. Our hat is off to Professor Essenburg for providing an experience unlike any other I have seen in undergraduate curriculums in my 18 years of recruiting in the financial industry.”
Students describe the banking and credit analysis class as a great experience, especially with the added bonus of the real-world experience component and getting the opportunity to make connections with industry professionals. Professor Essenburg, the student coaches and the Fifth Third speakers and judges, all devoted a great deal of time and energy to ensure students were adequately prepared, competitively positioning each team for success. A huge thank you to our industry partners at Fifth Third Bank for hosting the winter quarter competition and for providing this memorable learning experience. And congratulations to all of the students on their outstanding accomplishments!
By Mackenzie Larsen