IT was by sheer chance that Neil de Garis found himself back in Guernsey looking for work when the finance industry exploded. Now he heads the five-strong treasury and investor solutions team at RBS International. After a varied career in finance trying different things, he returned to treasury as his ideal role.

He has been back in the island for four years after five spent working away.

‘During my time off the island, the offshore funds, corporate banking and institutional side of the business had just grown and grown, which is great for Guernsey,’ he said.

‘In the last few years I have seen a lot of my friends move back from some of the biggest finance centres in the world to take up managing director positions over here.

‘It shows we are not only in a great place to live but also how attractive Guernsey is from a financial point of view. Being away, you appreciate just how much the island has to offer.’

Mr De Garis was born in 1963 and educated at Castel Primary School and Elizabeth College.

He went on to Sunderland Polytechnic in 1981 to embark on a business studies course but left halfway through. He finished it as a combined business studies and economics degree from Liverpool Polytechnic.

‘When I left in 1987 I had no inclination towards a career in finance, but at the same time witnessed the merchant banking industry take off in Guernsey,’ he said.

‘My brother had a position with Guinness Mahon and I remember thinking how interesting the job sounded.’

Mr de Garis moved back to Guernsey after a short spell in London doing various jobs.

‘The finance industry was booming and screaming out for people. I went to a temp agency looking for work and was immediately placed at Hambros.’

He started in securities and investment management and was quickly offered a permanent position. After two years he moved into treasury.

‘Between 1989 and 1992 I was working in foreign exchange and it was great fun. In those days it involved a lot of direct FX trading and dealing through local money brokers,’ he said.

‘But as much as I enjoyed treasury, after three years I decided it was time for something new and joined Rothschild Asset Management in Guernsey on the marketing side.’

He spent the next three years looking after unit trusts and money market funds for Rothschild in Guernsey, Jersey and Gibraltar.

‘I really enjoyed this time, but again felt it was time to move on and had an urge to get back into a treasury-related role.’

Mr de Garis’s next job was with Chemical Bank.

‘This was more of a trading-room environment, dealing in foreign exchange with non-local clients it was all US and European.’

Unfortunately, he was made redundant when the bank closed in 1996 and took three months off.

‘I did not believe trading in the foreign exchange and money market would remain strong from an offshore point of view. A lot of banks had looked to centralise risks in London or New York. So I decided to look for a more sales-related position within treasury.

‘RBS International were advertising a corporate treasury post. I was not sure what it was, but went for it.’

For the next three years he worked for the firm over here before moving to the Isle of Man to take over the treasury team there.

‘That was a good experience. The people I worked with were great. Like us, the island [Isle of Man] wants to be at the forefront of the industry and it felt like a very competitive place with a real buzz.’

In 2001 he moved to Birmingham and took up a position with RBS Financial Markets specialising in interest rate and foreign exchange risk management.

Two years later he was transferred back to Guernsey to take up his current position. Mr de Garis said it was amazing how much RBSI had grown since 1996.

‘Back then it was effectively a small-scale retail bank but now it is so much more. It’s a global corporate operation which continues to grow and grow.’

This year he is looking to establish closer ties with counterparts in London to use their expertise to benefit clients here.

‘What we do day to day is act as consultants with the objective of finding financial solutions for clients.

‘We are dealing with foreign exchanges, money markets and structured investment products on a daily basis to offer risk-management solutions to our client base,’ said Mr de Garis.

And he is always on the look- out for innovative investment opportunities.

‘For instance, we structured a deposit for a customer last year that was linked to alternative energy stocks.’

He celebrated his three-year wedding anniversary to Joanna a couple of days ago.

The couple have a five-month-old son, George, who, he said, is absolutely wonderful.

‘Frankly I don’t know why I

didn’t start a family sooner, but the nature of my career meant a lot of moving around.’

He tries to keep fit through regular visits to the gym or by playing squash. Golf is a game that he really wants to get involved in more.

‘I have been a member of L’Ancresse Golf Club for a year, which I know is like gold dust, but shamefully I have played only six times. This year I intend to rectify that and play more if George allows me to,’ he said.

‘Ironically, now I have started a family, I have plans to be more active.

‘There just isn’t going to be enough hours in the day to fit everything in.’