Opportunities in a commercial bank

Commercial banks represent the sector of the financial services industry that employs the most people. As commercial banking gets more diverse, so does its already large and varied prospects for the fresh graduate. Here's a general guide to the opportunities that await you.

Commercial banks are banks that take care of banking services needed by individuals, small businesses and large organisations. We usually refer to these institutions as, simply, a 'bank'. The term 'commercial' is basically used to distinguish these banks from investment banks.

Work opportunities in the commercial banking industry spread far and wide. You may find yourself assessing credit backgrounds of new clients, chasing old ones for payments or advising companies on how to best manage fluctuating exchange rates. Depending on the sector you work in, you could instead be handling a bank's internal marketing, legal and human resource issues or managing administrative jobs.

Generally, work opportunities in a bank can be divided into three groups: personal financial services (consumer banking), corporate banking and operations support services.

Personal financial services (consumer banking)

The area most of us are familiar with in a bank would be its consumer services. These are the services that we as individuals would use, from credit cards to loans and of course savings and current accounts. This section of the bank sees to the needs of its individual clients, and while each customer may represent only a small percentage of the banking business, on the whole, consumer banking forms a big part of the daily work in a bank.

Large and small commercial banks perform many direct banking operations from their bank branches and these areas need many people of different skills and calibre to maintain and deliver the daily banking business activities directly to customers. From front-line workers like tellers to bank officers, managers and customer service personnel, each branch has ample opportunities for workers interested in front-line banking operations.

Those working in mortgage and loan departments will have to maintain contact with real estate people to value the worth of properties, perform background credit checks on potential clients as well as manage loans bought or sold to other investors or institutions.

Consumer banking includes credit cards, a sector that continues to boom with competition between banks remaining at a high. Individuals looking for jobs here must be up for the challenge to participate in this competitive atmosphere.

Some banks also offer personal or private banking to high net worth clients. Besides the usual banking services, customers are helped in managing their entire financial situation from protection or growth of current assets to retirement financial plans and the passing on of wealth to future generations. Those working in this section have to be able to manage finances creatively, build personal relationships with clients as well as be confidential and discreet.

Corporate banking

Corporate banking caters to the needs of corporate clients. It encompasses all the banking services that companies need for the daily running of their businesses. These can be simple loans and credit facilities to management of finances for specific projects, for example, how to finance the building of a new factory. It is said that corporate bankers are the ones in the banking world who get to wine and dine. They are seen as people who build relationships with CEOs and financial directors of companies in order to gain and maintain business from the big guns.

The public face of corporate banking is the person in charge of managing client accounts, sometimes called the relationship manager, who nurtures relationships with specific corporate clients. Your responsibility as a relationship manager would be to help companies raise and manage funds through the tools and services available in your bank. In order to handle these accounts, you need to have great in depth knowledge of financial products offered by the banking industry in order to be able to manipulate it in the best interests of your clients. Most relationship managers will find their niches in particular industries, specialising in clients from pharmaceuticals or telecommunications and the like.

If hobnobbing with the powerful is not your cup of tea, other just as important backstage opportunities in corporate banking await you, which include: credit analysis, treasury or cash management, project finance, leasing, and import and export finance.

The different jobs in corporate banking are very different from each other for example, credit analysts spend their time poring over company accounts deciding risks of lending money to them while treasury managers help clients manage foreign currency holdings in times of fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.

Because of the differing nature of the jobs, skills needed vary as well. For example, to be a relationship manager, you need to be outgoing and be comfortable with clients as well as be able to make them comfortable with you. To be a credit analyst, you need to be thorough and have an eye for details and figures.

Operations support services.

Apart from the obvious banking divisions, banks like every other large organisation also incorporate other essential work departments to keep it going. Administrative, human resources, corporate communications, information technology, customer relations, contact centres are some of the notable important areas of work which support the main banking operations.

The marketing function in a bank is also of great importance and each institution has a specific focus on their marketing needs in order to remain competitive. The responsibility of the marketer is to understand how your bank can fulfil customer needs, come up with appropriate and innovative banking products to suit a wide range of clients and promote the bank's services locally and regionally in the best possible way.

Many people can find a niche for themselves in the banking sector regardless of their skills, experience or training.

Getting in

All commercial banks offer plenty of opportunities for fresh graduates including regular graduate trainee programmes that recruit and train young and enthusiastic first-jobbers into potential high-flying bankers. In general, accounting, business, finance or economics degree holders are sought after by these banking and financial institutions but graduates of other disciplines can also launch a career within the marketing, IT, customer relations, corporate communication and other departments as well.

© GTI Specialist Publishers. Reproduced with permission.