Karen Sloan is head of payments and cash management at HSBC Corporate Banking, Ireland. Sloan spends most of her day discussing treasury and cash management topics with both local and international colleagues, while maintaining close relationships with Irish and international clients. She says client activity is at a high at the moment as a result of the Single European Payment Area (SEPA), which she says is a unique opportunity for clients 'to re-engineer their bank account and liquidity management structures to streamline processes.'

An understanding of the financial services sector both domestically and internationally is an advantage for anyone looking to enter the financial services market, while continuous development has also helped Rachel Howard to become relationship manager with Barclays Bank Ireland plc.