The Guardian: Social mobility in finance: the new scheme tackling banking’s class ceiling

Fifteen years ago, Kobi Rahman arrived in London with just enough money for a roof over his head and a Ford Fiesta he couldn’t afford to run. A self-funded history graduate from the Midlands – he was the first person in his family to go to university – he’d landed a role in wealth management at a financial advisory firm.

“Those first two years were a baptism of fire,” he says. “I sat at tables with no idea why there were two forks and knives. I was a fish out of water. I survived because I had supportive managers from the start.”

Now senior vice-president, Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi, he helps others from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds climb up the ladder. Last summer, he spoke to students taking part in the first Citi Social Mobility programme, a pioneering pilot scheme that aims to prepare talented people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for a summer internship.

“I told them my own story and made them aware that they can get a foot in the door,” says Rahman, a co-chair of Citi’s social mobility network. “I’d had no pathway or guidance, but we are changing that.” (More)