IT’S the career path you pursue if you enjoy crunching numbers while helping people realise their dream of owning a business. It’s business financing.

Wayne Hewitt, vice-president of corporate and commercial banking with Scotiabank, provides ID Your Career with insight into this career option this week. The 38-year-old married father of two little boys has 16 years of banking experience.

He is the holder of a first degree in Economics and Management from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s in Business Administration (General Management) from Georgetown University.

What is business financing?

Business Financing pertains to finding appropriate funding solutions for the continuing operations, growth and expansion of a business.

What is the value of the work that you do?

Significant. Corporate Banking accounts for approximately 20-25 per cent of Scotiabank Group’s overall profits. The job we do in financing businesses is extremely valuable. Our ability to provide appropriate funding solutions allows firms to grow, maintains and/or creates jobs, and keeps the economy going.

What prompted your entry into the field?

Initially, a fascination for business and economics prompted my course selections in high school and in my undergraduate studies. I recall one lecturer at UWI (Claremont Kirton) saying in a monetary economics lecture that: “Financial development leads economic development.” That statement has stayed with me. The love for finance was then further fuelled in my graduate studies, and led me to respond to the recruitment drive of a major corporate and investment banking firm, Citibank.

What are the challenges involved in the field of business financing?

Limited options. Equity markets are not very deep, although the advent of the Junior Stock Exchange may change that, and our partnership with Scotia DBG allows us to offer it to some businesses. There are almost no venture capital funding sources. While debt financing is readily available from Scotiabank, businesses do face some challenges when their needs cannot be best met by additional loans.

What are the academic requirements for getting into your field?

A good grasp of economics, mathematics and finance are key. Degrees in these disciplines are important for every corporate banker.

What other skills/competencies are required to succeed in your career?

Good people and social skills, an ability to actively listen to people, and negotiation skills are also necessary.

Trained as a business financier/corporate banker, what other employment

options are open to you?

General management positions in any company, particularly in the financial sector, plus CFO and/or treasury positions in the non-financial sectors are other alternatives.

How much can someone in your line of work earn annually?

It varies from company to company.

Why would you advise anyone to get into this field?

The comment my lecturer made remains true. Helping businesses find relevant financial solutions does open the door for production and economic development. It does provide you with an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the forward movement of Jamaica by helping businesses here become financially better off, which augurs well for the advancement of our economy and society. Also, corporate finance is extremely rewarding in that one gets exposed to many different kinds of businesses and industries. Today you could be working in power generation, and tomorrow in tourism. An opportunity to contribute to the country through multiple sectors at a time is afforded to that young person who’s interested.