Stefan Rüscher
Graduated in September 2003

Career

• August 1998 – July 2000
  Trained as a bank clerk
• August 2000 – March 2001
  Worked in the Bundesbank's Payments Department
• April 2001 – August 2003
  Studied at the Bundesbank's University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg
• September 2003 – October 2014
  Analyst in the field of regional, special-purpose and foreign banks at the Bundesbank's Regional Office in North Rhine-Westphalia
• Since November 2014
  Bundesbank representative in two Joint Supervisory Teams of the European Central Bank, working from Düsseldorf

Interview

What tasks are you currently working on?

I am currently a member of two of the ECB's Joint Supervisory Teams (JSTs), each monitoring a large European banking group. Incidentally, the head of one of the JSTs is a former fellow student who graduated in the same year as me and now works for the ECB. Together with colleagues from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Bundesbank, who are also members of these JSTs, I am mainly in charge of ongoing supervision of the German subsidiaries of these banking groups. In addition, expert groups are currently being formed within the JSTs, which themselves only became operational in November 2014, to look into particular risks, working on a cross-border basis and focusing on specific subject areas. Being part of an expert group within a JST provides all JST members with interesting insights at banking-group level. Carrying out day-to-day operations in English and the ECB's more quantitative approach represent a certain challenge. In any case, working in a JST is really exciting, in particular due to the close cooperation with colleagues from the ECB and other national supervisory authorities.

How did your studies at the Bundesbank's University of Applied Sciences prepare you for the requirements of your career, especially your current position?

The course in Hachenburg thoroughly prepares students for a career in banking supervision, without neglecting the other business areas of the Bundesbank and topics relating to general business administration. The prospect of being able to apply what you are taught as part of the course provides students with additional motivation. Experience shows that entering banking supervision is easier for Hachenburg graduates than "externals".

In what way has studying at the Bundesbank's University of Applied Sciences influenced you?

Maybe the merely one and a half years spent in Hachenburg were not long enough to influence us in a significant way. My impression is that it is not the university's objective to influence students, but to convey and develop knowledge and skills.

What was the biggest challenge you faced while studying?

The greatest challenge was undoubtedly finding the necessary time to study while also making use of the extensive range of leisure activities on offer in Hachenburg, especially in the area of sports. I also used to go out on my racing bike around Hachenburg quite a lot, often played tennis and took part in the dance course which was offered to us students. The time in Hachenburg simply went by too fast! However, the long and frequent journeys which some of my fellow students had to make between their homes and Hachenburg were a challenge, as was the unfamiliar boarding-school-like life on campus.

Do you still feel connected to "your" university?

Of course! The good memories of my time in Hachenburg always come back when I return there to hold small practical lectures. Another very positive experience is to meet alumni from the same graduation year at work because our time together at the Bundesbank's university really created a team spirit.