Job Title: Director
Location: New York
Submitted on: 24-Aug-04
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As Fitch Ratings is the result of mergers and acquisitions of four
smaller rating agencies, most of which occurred in 1999/2000, the
corporate culture is only now starting to become more unified.
Employees from each agency (Fitch, IBCA, Duff & Phelps, BankWatch)came
with their own culture. I came from one of the smaller agencies, which
had a relatively flat management structure. Although all analysts had
there titles, we worked more together as a team and the president of our
agency was easily accessible. My feeling is that the new Fitch is
more "title" oriented in its structure and very beaurocratic. There are
procedures for everything, from analysis to travel arrangements to
filling out expense reports. While for the most part, structure is
welcome and has been a good change for me, sometimes the company can be
a bit inflexible about procedures which leads to frustration. In my
initial days, both at my former employer and at Fitch, post-adquisition,
training was minimal. Analysts were thrown in and expected to learn on
the job. It was either a sink or swim situation. However, it appears
that as a much larger organization now, Fitch is paying more attention
to in-house training. In addition, Fitch provides tuition reimbursement
for relevant coursework and covers the costs associated with taking the
CFA. As Fitch is a worldwide organization, we do have a diverse
workforce. I don't know the exact breakdown of minority professionals at
Fitch and my observations are anecdotal. However, it appears to me that
most of the diversity is in the overseas offices and in the
International Department (mostly due to language issues). Most
hispanics that work at Fitch are originally from other countries, but
educated in the US. There are some African Americans, but not many.
Among analysts, probably the most prominent minority group is Asians.
The working hours are reasonable. When I first started as an analyst at
a rating agency, I worked longer hours, typically 50 to 60 per weeek.
However, having been in my position at the Director level for some time,
I can perform my job well within 40 to 45 hours per week. On occasion,
I will put in a late night, but usually not more than once a week. The
dress code is business causaul unless you have a meeting or are
travelling outside of the office for meetings. I think opportunities
for advancement depend on many factors and at times appear limited. In
my early years, I advanced quite quickly, however, I have been at the
same title for some time now. There are a lot of really qualified great
analysts at Fitch, and advancement depends on having the opportunities
to excel in various situations. However, these opportunities are not
always distributed equally. This may vary from department to department.
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