Ashland University Finance Student Peter Djordjevich Interned for Third Federal Savings and Loan

2014 Oct 8

North Royalton resident Peter Djordjevich, a senior finance major at Ashland University, served as an intern in Cleveland this summer for Third Federal Savings and Loan.

Alongside his supervisor and the Regulatory Reporting Officer, Kara Brokaw, Djordjevich was centered on various reports and details that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the chief regulator for banks, requires banking institutions to publish on a quarterly and yearly basis. He joined Third Federal when regulations of the Dodd-Frank bill were just beginning to take effect. He had to update many of the existing templates and files to ensure proper data was submitted to the government. Djordjevich completed research projects and implemented his findings into methods that significantly simplified Third Federal's reporting process.

In regards to Third Federal Savings and Loan, Djordjevich said, "Third Federal Savings and Loan is a major provider of savings and mortgage products that has held true to its values of love, trust, respect and a commitment to excellence for over 75 years. The company was founded in 1938 to help the residents of the Cleveland area achieve the dream of home ownership and financial security. Third Federal went public in 2007 and currently serves customers in all 50 states. As of March 31, 2014, the company's assets totaled 11.5 billion. Third Federal has consistently ranked as a Fortune 100 top workplace."

During his time there, Djordjevich worked on many different projects. He learned about various regulations and scrutiny to which banking institutions in the United States are subject. He mapped the various schedules of quarterly and yearly reports in Microsoft Excel. The reports mapped were the Call Report, FRY-9C, and the FRY-LP. By breaking these reports down into a format in Microsoft Excel, it allowed Third Federal to trace the origination points for the data that goes into these various reports.

Djordjevich said the most important result of mapping these reports however, is the achievement of a greater amount of transparency in the banks financials. He also had the opportunity to work on the development of a new tax policy to acknowledge newly released IRS regulations.

Djordjevich learned not only about Third Federal, but about the banking industry overall. He said he learned the importance of values in the workplace, like treating coworkers as family and being genuine about it. Working with finance terms daily, Djordjevich became more familiar with the terms and used them in the "real world" environment, which helped connect his classes to the actual job. Djordjevich learned that banking wants to help people be at peace with their finances.

When asked how his classes at AU helped prepare him for the internship, he said, "My classes at AU properly prepared me for this work experience by providing an excellent basis in not only business/finance terms, but core values as well. I am constantly praised for the manner of professionalism in which I conduct myself and my knowledge of finance and business terms. I relate this to the personal level in which professors at AU are able to connect with students and bring their real world experience into the classroom."

Regarding how the internship will help him in his experience at AU, Djordjevich responded, "This work experience has advanced my knowledge of finance in ways that one cannot achieve in the classroom. By witnessing and utilizing the concepts taught in the classroom in their industry application the ideas have become much clearer. I will now have many examples of how to more specifically apply the concepts and utilize them to supplement my learning experience at AU. For example, I will have the ability to propose questions and comments related to my work experience."

Djordjevich noted that the internship has led to a full-time job offer. The work experience also has solidified his plans for a career in banking. After graduation, Djordjevich plans on working two to three years in banking as an analyst and wants to obtain his CFA. His goal is to make a career in investment banking.

Djordjevich is the son of Peter and Mary Djordjevich of North Royalton. He is 2011 graduate of North Royalton High School.

On the AU campus, he is the treasurer of Phi Delta Theta. Djordjevich also is involved in ENACTUS, Second Amendment Club and College Republicans.

Ashland University, which has been ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###