Early Talent

Financial Crime Graduate programmes

Salary £35,000 (per annum)

Starts September 2025

Duration 2 years

Qualifications required Already obtained or are on course to achieve a 2:1 degree

Our goal in Financial Crime

Our aim is to be there for our customers when they need us to protect them – financial crime costs the UK economy billions of pounds a year.

Criminals prey on the vulnerable, costing them savings, livelihoods, and sometimes their freedom. Businesses lose out on opportunities. Money is used to fund crime and terrorism around the world. We want to make it easy for our customers to stay safe.

Joshua’s experience

See what Joshua thinks about their experience in Financial Crime.

Speaker: Joshua Riffe

Tell us about Financial Crime

Joshua: Hi I’m Josh, and I work in the financial crime division, and in this area we essentially stop bad people from doing bad things to good people. More specifically, we work hard to detect and prevent financial crime, and to protect people, families and businesses. In our area, we call it the fin crime hub or financial crime hub, and it manages five main areas: customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-tax evasion and sanctions and screening. Essentially, we work really hard to produce a wide variety of activities to keep everybody safe.

What do you find most exciting about Financial Crime?

Joshua: The most exciting thing about being part of this business area is having a role where you can connect how what you do really has a positive impact on the public. When you hear the good news stories of that impact, it’s always great to hear that and to know that you had a hand in them.

How has being part of Data and Analytics team stretched you?

Joshua: For me, it’s been about balance. I’ve really had to be nimble balance-wise balancing the creativity and the adaptability of reacting quickly, creating new things, trying to stay ahead of the game, while also living in a very highly-regulated world.

What do you find most challenging about Financial Crime?

Joshua: The thing I find most challenging about working in financial crime is that the criminals, they work round the clock full time to try to stay ahead of us, just try to stay ahead of the actual game. I mean there are so many different methods that these criminals use to commit financial crime, that it can be difficult at times to ensure that we are aware of all of these, to help us put the right systems in place to stop it from happening. Just when you think you’ve solved or stopped one type of activity, something else comes along.

Is the programme for you?

Are you curious and analytical and someone who likes to think outside of the box? Are you resourceful and a great problem-solver, able to overcome a range of challenges? Our Financial Crime programme could be for you.

This is a chance to experience a financial crime business that’s built on the latest artificial intelligence. This programme is fantastic for gaining a breadth of experience in Financial Crime, and your opportunity to work in one of the fastest-growing centres of excellence for it.

Who can support you?

Your buddy

Your go-to person for support and guidance during your first six months. They’ll be readily available to answer questions, provide advice and help you connect with peers.

Your graduate manager

They’ll be with you across your graduate journey, providing guidance, feedback and support to help you achieve your goals and develop your skills.

Your placement manager

They’ll work alongside you to set your goals, offer feedback and support your growth.

The other graduates

Your graduate colleagues are on the journey with you and there will be plenty of opportunities to connect and support each other.

What can the programme teach you?

This is your opportunity to build a breadth of skills focused on Financial Crime. In addition to growing specialist knowledge, you’ll develop the soft skills such as data literacy, decision-making, change management, creative thinking and continuous improvement to build your career on.

What can you gain from the programme?

The chance to be part of one of the biggest change programmes in the bank
The skills to lead in Financial Crime teams that prevent and detect financial crime for our customers
Experience in anti-money-laundering investigations, and the opportunity to work with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and National Crime Agency

Where can the programme take you?

To get an idea of where this programme could lead, previous graduates have gone on to roles such as:

Anti-Money Laundering Investigators
Sanctions Analysts
Quality Assurance Analysts

Graduate programmes in Financial Crime

Application process

Submit your application

Find a role that’s right for you
Work scenarios

A work scenarios assessment
Reasoning skills

A problem solving, numerical and reasoning skills assessment
Video interview

Record your response to questions about experience and potential
Assessment centre

A full day of virtual activities
Receiving an offer

Feedback on the outcome of your application

Ready to apply? Start your journey here

Explore our step by step application guide for top tips and advice to support your success.

Application step-by-step Graduate FAQs

Secret work skills

Cyril: My name is Cyril Ishabiyi.

Nush: I’m Nush, and I’m on the Finance Grad scheme.

Isaiah: My name is Isaiah John.

Zhen: I’m Zhen Chen, and I’m from Malaysia.

Cyril: I’m from Nigeria.

Nush: I’m originally from Norfolk, but I moved to London after university.

Isaiah: I am from the lovely twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Cyril: The most unusual skill I’ve used at work would probably be my football knowledge.

Cyril: We had a ‘Grad to Meet You’ session, which is where we get the chance to meet senior executives. There was a competition – basically a pop quiz – where football came up, and with my knowledge combined with my other team members’ skills, we were able to win the competition. So, that was probably the skill I didn’t expect to use, to be fair.

Nush: So I think whilst you’re on the Grad scheme, there are so many opportunities available, and we’re constantly getting emailed about new initiatives and activities that grads can sign up for.

Nush: I’ve done things like podcast editing and event planning, and these are some of the skills I’ve picked up that I really wouldn’t have expected to be exposed to on a typical Finance Grad scheme.

Zhen: When my manager, who has a non-technical background, asked me to give him an insight into machine learning, I had to use my teaching skills from working as a math tutor. So, I used metaphors and drew diagrams to explain the concept of machine learning, and it was quite a fun experience.

Isaiah: Carpentry... Let me explain. We had a volunteering day at a local community center, where we built some compost bins for them. That involved a lot of cutting lumber and assembling it. Thankfully, I’ve got a bit of experience in that from helping my dad out back at home, so hopefully, I’ve been able to use my skills to build something for people in need.

Hobbies and Talents

Alex: Hi, my name is Alex Stamford.

Clover: Hello my name is Clover.

Ross: Hey guys, I’m Ross.

Emma: My name is Emma, and I’m part of the Commercial Banking scheme in London. I live in Mainestone in Kent.

Alex: I’m originally from Bedford, and I’m based up in Edinburgh.

Clover: I’m from China.

Ross: I’m from London, but I recently moved up to Edinburgh to start the Change and Business Solutions Graduate programme.

Emma: The hidden talent I have is that I can belly dance, not very well, but I can, and when I was in year 7, I won the school disco against someone who was really good at dancing, and I just got up and rolled my belly and suddenly I won the disco, and so I still feel bad about that to this day.

Ross: I’m a qualified ski instructor, and I love to carry on around my license card with me just to make sure that everyone knows I’m a ski instructor and if you need one, call on me.

Clover: A hobby that my colleagues wouldn’t expect me to have, is probably I’m a big fan of k-pop music, so during weekends, I often go to studios with my friends to practice some dances and we will also take some short videos together.

Alex: I enjoy playing guitar, I do a bit mountaineering in my spare time, and I also enjoy a bit of DJing as well.

Unusual work days

Katie: Hi my name’s Katie.

Hootan: I’m Hootan Parsapour.

Georgina: My name is Georgina.

Gayatri: My name is Gayatri, and I’m from India.

Hootan: Born and raised in Birmingham, and that’s where I’m currently working as well.

Georgina: I am originally from London, but I am currently living in Jersey.

Katie: I’m originally from Reading in England, but I currently live in Edinburgh.

Katie: I’d say one of the more unusual days – and it wasn’t a work day – but at Edinburgh pride, there was a huge sort of group from NatWest, and we had a massive balloon and t-shirts, and it was really, really fun, and it was just really great to see so many people from within the bank on the weekend having a nice time and supporting Edinburgh pride.

Georgina: I think the most unusual day – well it was two days actually – was our team off-site days. That’s where our whole team from the UK, from Ireland, and from Jersey, come together in Jersey, and we have two days together, and we spent time exchanging ideas, working out ways to where we can work together better, try to think of new projects that we can work on which is great, but we also had an egg and spoon race, we had to make cars out of wood and see which one goes further. We did tree maintenance, so it was interesting. We did a treasure hunt as well, which was interesting as well, so an unusual day.

Gayatri: In May this year, the Graduates were invited to a services executive event at the Gogarburn office. This was a chance to meet Simon McNamara, the Group Chief Administrative Officer and his Senior Leadership team. It was a very rare opportunity to network with senior leaders, hear from them, and learn about their stories. The highlight of the day was when they asked us to look beneath our seats to check for randomly hidden prizes, and I was one of the winners. The prize was a rare mentorship opportunity with one of the senior leaders, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from.

Hootan: The most unusual day was going into the office on a Friday, and being one of the only people in out of the entire building. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Don’t worry offices are busier now, so you won’t be as lonely, and one thing I did learn is that Thursdays are now the new Fridays.

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Financial Crime Graduate programmes

Our goal in Financial Crime

What’s great about the programme?

Joshua’s experience

Is the programme for you?

Who can support you?

Your buddy

Your graduate manager

Your placement manager

The other graduates

What can the programme teach you?

What can you gain from the programme?

Where can the programme take you?

Graduate programmes in Financial Crime

Application process

Submit your application

Work scenarios

Reasoning skills

Video interview

Assessment centre

Receiving an offer

Ready to apply? Start your journey here

Meet our people

Secret work skills

Hobbies and Talents

Unusual work days