How to become A Banker

Ethical banking is produced not by good laws, but by good bankers - those wise beings who can balance the risk of a run with the reward of a profit - those who safely and profitably tread the middle ground.

• Retail Banker

What do Bankers do?

A Banker would typically need to:

• Work closely with a variety of clients to determine their banking needs
• Discuss the clients’ financial requirements and provide services to facilitate a variety of business transactions
• Manage client bank accounts, process deposits, payments, and withdrawals; evaluate and authorize overdrafts, loans, cashier cheques or money orders
• Advise customers on utilizing idle liquid cash in their accounts to earn higher interest rates or make investments in insurance, shares, bonds, and mutual funds
• Collaborate with other banking professionals to ensure the quality of client service and client satisfaction
• Act as the face of the organization in their local community by developing a network of local business contacts
• Recruit, train, supervise, set sales targets for and appraise junior staff
• Manage budgets, meet targets, maintain statistical as well as financial reports; complete management reports
• Serve existing customers in the branch, over the phone or via the internet; sign on new clients and help them through the onboarding
• Resolve client queries and complaints that cannot be solved by front-line staff
• Present and sell cross-selling banking services and products to existing and prospective clients
• Open and close the branch daily while ensuring the premises are fit for business

Bankers spend most of their time in their branch, meeting with existing and prospective clients and carrying out administrative activities. They may travel to network with the local community and business contacts.

When you're handling other people's money as their Banker, you need to present yourself as capable and professional. Suits in dark colors such as black, charcoal, and navy blue are most appropriate. Banks in warmer climates may allow you to get by with short-sleeved shirts, but you must still top them off with a conservative tie.

Men should wear polished, tie-up black or brown shoes. While open-toed shoes may be appropriate in tropical climates, women in Banking should stick to pumps with closed toes, flats or stylish heels that match their suits.

Bankers typically work from 9 am to 5 pm, but if you work in a branch, you may also do shifts over the weekend, depending on its opening hours. Bankers in management teams, including graduate trainees, may be expected to work extra hours and be flexible to ensure that service levels are maintained.

If you work in Phone or Internet Banking, you may be expected to work shift patterns to provide the 24-hour banking that customers expect. Part-time, flexible working and career break opportunities are possible.

Most employment opportunities in the Banking industry occur in major cities. Vacancies are advertised by careers services, online and in national newspapers. Applications should be made as early in the financial year as possible.

There are no opportunities for self-employment in retail banking.

Bankers are generally employed by:

• Major High Street Banks
• Large Banking Organizations
• Online Banks
• Supermarkets

Professional associations and organizations are a crucial resource for those interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your Resume to bolster your credentials and qualifications.

• Macroeconomic risks and cyber-attacks
• Tightening regulatory requirements and political interference
• Outdated core IT systems

Pre-entry work experience in a financial or customer-led environment is desirable in potential Bankers. This may include: job shadowing, vacation work, sandwich placements, internships, and temporary or permanent work experience.

Prospective candidates with a bachelor’s degree in business studies, finance, business administration, management, economics, law, and mathematics are more likely to land a job in Banking.

Certification displaying proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Banking databases, and relevant software programs would prove handy to promising Bankers.

Opportunities for career progression are strictly based on merit and driven by performance, achievement of set targets, flexibility and your willingness to move.

If you are not part of a graduate management scheme, with experience and professional qualifications, your career could take the route of: Team Leader~Assistant Manager of a department or branch~Branch Manager~Regional Manager. If you are on a graduate scheme, you will usually go into a Management role upon successful completion of the scheme. You will start in an entry-level customer service role and work your way up the career ladder.

It is also possible to move out of branch management and into a central office role, such as: marketing, project management, product development, risk management.

You may move banks to progress or move into other roles such as insurance, audit and compliance, investment banking, and corporate finance. Specialization and transfers to overseas offices and larger branches also present excellent promotional opportunities.

Other retail areas, such as supermarket management or general management of a call center or large store, are also open to retail Bankers. School leavers and candidates with vocational qualifications from further education colleges can also develop a career in Retail Banking.

Expertise, experience, and willingness to relocate will pave the way for the best job prospects in banking.

Graduates can enter Banking at the trainee manager level. As a new employee, you will usually go through an induction process to train you in the bank’s products and services. This training will cover customer and risk management.

Management training schemes help Bankers gain professional qualifications so that they may progress to management level. This typically involves spending some time in the branch to understand the role of the staff you're managing. It involves learning about related services such as credit cards, loans, and small business Banking. You will also spend time in regional offices.

It is important to keep up to date with any changes in the banking and finance industry. Membership in professional organizations will help you do so through briefings, conferences, seminars, and training workshops.

Retail Banking is also known as Consumer Banking. Retail Bankers service the general public. The transactions that they are involved in are facilitated in branches across the country. A Banker’s life is filled with a gamut of pressure, which they should be able to manage and prioritize efficiently.

Many retail Banking operations are now carried out using telephone helplines and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. Transactions are also increasingly processed through online systems (Web-Banking, Net-Banking or E-Banking systems) and via people’s mobile phones (Mobile Banking). Bankers spend a lot of time on the phone or in meetings.

Prospective Bankers must be free from bankruptcy and criminal records. As a manager, you may attend local business and charitable functions. You may cover several branches, so you'll need to travel between them. You will also be required to attend regular area and regional meetings.

International travel is rare in Retail Banking, but some multinational banks will offer the chance to move overseas. If you work in a branch, then you're likely to be provided with a uniform. Other roles tend to require a smart business dress.

Italian banks take Parmesan cheese as collateral for loans and keep hundreds of thousands of cheese wheels in their climate-controlled vaults for the two years it takes to mature.

If banks cannot indeed be customer intimate, they are doomed to be just dumb commodities, acting behind the scenes, like utilities. At its core, banking is not only about profit, but about personal relationships. It is a personal service where bankers work hand in hand with their clients.

Adventure is the life of commerce, but caution is the life of banking.