Ryan Hammond

“Careers in Banking: Entry Level to Top Management”

Financial Service Operations

FINA 4345.001

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Introduction________________________________________________________________3

Teller____________________________________________________________________3-4

Customer Service Representative______________________________________________4-5

Retail Office Manager________________________________________________________5

President_________________________________________________________________5-6

Credit Analyst_____________________________________________________________6-7

Lender____________________________________________________________________7

Special Assets Officer_______________________________________________________7-8

Loan Operations Manager_____________________________________________________8

Internal Auditor____________________________________________________________8-9

Human Resources Director____________________________________________________9

Security Officer____________________________________________________________10

Marketing Director________________________________________________________10-11

Chief Information Officer____________________________________________________11

Chief Financial Officer_____________________________________________________11-12

Chief Executive Officer______________________________________________________12

Conclusion_______________________________________________________________12-13

Bibliography_______________________________________________________________13

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The world of banking is a complex environment full of various individuals whose skills

are a necessity in making sure the entire banking process runs smoothly. Overall, knowledge in

finance and banking are required to hold a position in a banking institution. Before I delve into

the careers available in banking, it is important to know why banks exist as an important part of

the economic system. Banks exist in order to facilitate funds between people who have excess

funds and people who are in need of those excess funds. If banks were not available to facilitate

these funds, people who would need to borrow funds would pay a very high interest rate, because

the people lending the money would not know the appropriate risk associated with the borrower.

Banks can, and do, analyze how much risk will be associated with a borrower, therefore

providing more stable and affordable interest rates. Everyone from the Teller to the CEO play an

important role in ensuring funds are facilitated in a professional and appropriate manner.

Someone who is new to banking and looking to get their foot in the door at a bank will

likely start off as a Teller. I am a Teller myself at Austin Bank where I’ve been working my way

through business school so that I may move up one day. Tellers are the lowest paid employees of

the bank with pay ranging from $8.39 - $13.21 an hour, with the average being $10.44 an hour

(1). This is due to the fact that Tellers typically do not generate much income for banks, and

generally are seen as people who “handle” money rather than “make” money. This is not to say

Tellers are not important, because they are the first person a customer meets when they walk into

the bank. In an environment where first impressions play a key part in business deals, the Teller

is arguably the most important position in the bank. Duties of a Teller include handling

customers’ transactions such as: deposits, withdrawals, loan payments, cashing checks, and

issuing cashier’s checks. Tellers must be able to handle disgruntled customers and resolve

discrepancies with a customer’s account when needed. Basic skills in math, computer literacy,

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organization, and time management are desired for potential Tellers. At the end of the day,

Tellers must be able to balance their cash drawer without being short or over any money. Thus, a

Teller must be focused on each transaction he or she handles while, at the same time, being as

efficient as possible. Behind the scenes of handling customers’ transactions, Tellers are

responsible for balancing and ordering money for the main cash vault, as well as balancing and

putting money in the ATM. As a Teller grows and becomes more comfortable in their position,

they will be encouraged, sometimes required, to cross-sell products to potential and existing

customers. These products include, but are not limited to: online banking, debit cards, various

accounts (CDs, Savings, Money Market), and direct deposit. If a Teller shows leadership and

carries out their duties exceptionally well, he or she may be offered a promotion to Teller

Supervisor where they will carry the same responsibilities, in addition to: holding Teller

meetings, preparing schedules, disciplining Tellers, and approving transactions.

Another position within a bank that can be considered an entry level role is a Customer

Service Representative, or CSR. A CSR position could be a great next step for someone who is

looking to move away from their Teller role. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job

growth for CSRs is expected to be 13% through 2022 (2). Customer Service Representatives

generally make slightly more than a Teller with a range of $9.07-$17.56, with the average being

$12.68 an hour (1). Once a potential customer decides they would like to do business with you,

they will have the opportunity to sit down with the CSR and discuss any accounts and/or services

they may need. The CSR is in charge of entering in a customer’s information into the bank’s

account system to ensure the customer’s money is placed into their specific account. This

includes: verifying the customer’s identity, address, phone number, and business documents if

need be. Customer Service Representatives also handle the setting up of Safe Deposit Boxes,

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Individual Retirement Accounts, and Certificates of Deposit. As does a Teller, a CSR is

responsible for making sure a customer is satisfied with the relationship they have with the bank.

This could range from providing a customer with statements to verify transactions, or refunding

fees on the customer’s account if the CSR deems it appropriate. Skills recommended for holding

a Customer Service Representative position include being personable, organized, detail oriented,

computer literate, and efficient.

Presiding directly over both the Tellers and CSR is the Retail Office Manager, or ROM.

The salary a ROM earns is anywhere from $36,188 to $69,523 per year with the average being

$50,804 per year (1). Education desired for a ROM is a Bachelor’s degree in business, or at least

5 years of related experience or equivalent, and must have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in a

supervisory position. Skills demanded for a Retail Office Manager are computer literacy,

reasoning capabilities, mathematical understanding, regulation knowledge, and knowing how to

perform both the Teller and CSR duties when needed. I had the opportunity to interview the

ROM of our Longview Greggton location, Abigayle Berry, who previously held the Teller

Supervisor and CSR position before taking over the role of Retail Office Manager almost two

years ago. According to Abigayle, daily tasks consist of answering phone calls and emails,

opening and closing accounts, approving checks and deposits, conducting meetings, supervising

branch audits, counseling employees when needed and anything else that may press her for

attention (3). Above the other demands of a Retail Office Manager, Abigayle explains that the

most important aspect of her job is having the ability to be flexible and provide excellent

customer service.

The role of President within a bank is a well-respected, important position. More

specifically, there exists Location Presidents as well as Regional Presidents with the former

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being someone presiding over a single location and the latter being someone presiding over

multiple locations in a particular region. Banking Presidents’ salaries often range anywhere from

$70,121 to $180,130 per year with the average being $104,523 per year (1). Higher education is

almost always a requirement of someone looking to take on the role of President, with majors

concentrating in Accounting, Business, Finance, and Management (4). Master’s degrees are

becoming more in demand for this career as banks look to hire more knowledgeable employees

to gain a competitive advantage. A President is responsible for overseeing all banking activities,

presenting regular reports about operations to the CEO, ensuring growth and development of the

bank, finding new business opportunities, and monitoring bank performance among many other

things (5). An individual who is seeking to become a President in the bank must have good oral

and written communication skills, strong leadership abilities, detail oriented focus, solid analytic

skills, interpersonal competencies, and a professional appearance (5). Like many upper

management positions, the President does not have what most people would consider a routine,

or “black and white”, list of duties for each day.

A great step for anyone seeking a role in the lending area of a bank is the Credit Analyst

position. Credit Analysts earn between $33,804 and $66,551 per year with the average being

$45,875 per year (1). A Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in Accounting or Finance to

hold a Credit Analyst position (6). Senior Credit Analyst, Kim Raney at our Longview Greggton

location says she looks for candidates who are numbers oriented, have the ability to multi-task,

and have strong verbal and written skills (6). According to Kim, the duties of a Credit Analyst

consist of spreading financial statements, preparing cash flows, loan memos, and written analysis

of companies, owners, industries, customers and profitability models (6). As a Senior Credit

Analyst, Kim also manages and trains a group of Credit Analysts and real estate evaluation

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specialists, as well as reviews appraisals when needed. As I stated earlier, many people looking

to move into the lending field begin in the Credit Analyst department to gain a better

understanding of evaluating credit risk (7).

Once an individual has a thorough understanding of evaluating credit risk and credit

analysis, he or she may be offered a chance to handle the role of a Lender. The average salary of

a Lender is $59,820 (2). As with the Credit Analyst and President positions, a Bachelor’s degree

preferably in Accounting or Finance is highly recommended, but can also be substituted with

years of equivalent experience. Manny DeLeon, a Community Lender at our Pine Tree location,

uses his skilled background in Accounting and Finance daily (8). According to Manny, day-to-

day activities include managing and maintaining a loan portfolio, analyzing all credit factors

associated with each proposed loan and applying professional judgment to determine the credit-

worthiness of each borrower, and developing and maintaining adequately documented credit files

for each customer (8). Lenders must also identify problem loans and act accordingly to liquidate

collateral if necessary. This includes repossessions, foreclosures, or filing judgments against

borrowers (8). Manny began his career as a Teller and moved to Credit Analyst before holding

his current position as Community Lender.

Should a problem loan need to be liquidated, there exists in banking a Special Assets

Officer. The salary for someone in charge of Special Assets ranges from $44,820 to $98,030 per

year with the average being $62,479 per year (1). A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Banking,

or Finance is highly recommended for someone to hold a Special Assets position (9). Shannon

Seay, the Special Assets Officer at our Longview Greggton location, explained that she

experiences mostly on-the-job training with the bank’s attorney to learn rules and regulations for

bankruptcy (9). Shannon stated that she has “been in this job for 2 years and still learns

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something new every day.” Daily duties consist of monitoring customer accounts that are in

bankruptcy, preparation and filing of documentation with Bankruptcy Court on outstanding debt,

repossessing to liquidate any collateral that is surrendered to Austin Bank through bankruptcy,

and reviewing and collecting charge-off loan accounts (9). Shannon previously held a Credit

Analyst position prior to taking on the role of Special Assets Officer.

Overseeing the operations of the lending side of the bank is the Loan Operations

Manager. Salary for an individual in a Loan Operations Manager position can be anywhere

between $39,465 and $87,998 per year with the average being $61,090 (1). It is preferred that

someone looking to become a Loan Operations Manager hold a college degree in Business,

Finance, or Accounting, but equivalent experience may be accepted in certain circumstances

(10). According to the Loan Operations Manager at our Longview Greggton location, Lisa

Sampson, day-to-day duties comprise of making changes to loans per loan personnel requests,

preparing board reports for the bank’s board of directors, balancing all accounts pertaining to

loans, handling credit disputes, paying taxes and insurance for customers who escrow with the

bank, as well as maintaining and processing all charge-off requests, classified requests, and non-

accrual requests (10). Lisa began her career as a Teller and moved to Loan Teller before taking

on the role of Assistant Loan Operations Manager where she was soon promoted to Loan

Operations Manager (10).

Often a behind-the-scenes job in the field of banking is the Internal Auditor. The salary

for an Internal Auditor ranges from $37,688 to $71,520 per year with the average being $51,491

per year (1). Those who hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance will be qualified to

apply for a position as an Internal Auditor (11). In order to gain a competitive advantage, an

individual may become a Certified Financial Services Auditor, or CFSA, but it is not required

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(12). Patty Morgan, the Internal Auditor of Austin Bank, states that her daily duties include

auditing for adherence to policy and procedures, auditing for risk, and ensuring safety and

soundness of the bank as a whole (11). Patty ensures that reconciliations are being performed,

verifies for dual control and segregation of duties, as well as reviews various departments on an

annual basis to ensure that policy and procedures are being adhered to (11). Patty held roles such

as Teller, CSR, and Lending before moving to the Risk Management department. The most

important part of an Internal Auditor’s job is making sure that risk is limited throughout the

organization (11).

An important part of any organization, not just banking, is Human Resources. If

understanding financial statements and analyzing risk do not interest an individual, they may

thrive in a bank’s Human Resources department. This is not to say that the Human Resources

department is uneducated in Accounting or Finance. Estimated salaries for a Human Resources

Director are between $48,347 and $121,744 per year and have the average of $78,915 per year

(1). A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Human Resources will allow an individual the chance

to become a Human Resources Director (13). According to our Human Resources Director, Lynn

Littlejohn, her day starts with a list, but sometimes crisis dictates variation from the assigned

schedule (13). Lynn’s duties include presiding over her department where they submit Profit

Sharing allocations to 401Ks, complete W-2’s and benefit statements, complete payroll reports,

set up new employee deductions for insurance in payroll, and implement all payroll adjustments

for the new year among various other tasks that may come their way (13). Her department works

on an annual schedule rather than a daily routine. A few skills necessary for a Human Resources

Director include strategic critical thinking skills, the ability to prioritize, and have emotional

intelligence (13).

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Banks are constantly targeted by both internal and external threats. For this reason, banks

invest in a Security Officer who will use his or her knowledge and skills to help protect the bank

from robberies, forgeries, identity theft, irate customers and any other conceivable threat a bank

may face (14). Internal threats include employee issues, such as: problems at home, children

issues, and divorce. At first glance, one may not consider an employee’s personal problems

much of a threat, but these problems can lead to workplace violence. Banks may vary on what

specific education they look for in a Security Officer, but having a background in law

enforcement and/or having a degree in Criminal Justice and/or Business Management would be a

strong start (14). Salaries for Security Officer range from $29,697 to $93,217 per year with the

average being $48,583 per year (1). The Security Officer for Austin Bank, Keith Fletcher, not

only handles security issues, but is also in charge of facilities and purchasing (14). Facilities

must be maintained to a high standard in order to keep the bank’s image intact and to exude a

professional appearance for customers and potential customers alike (14). Desirable skills for a

potential Security Officer are time management, the ability to multi-task, and effective

communication.

A vital part of the bank’s operations is the marketing team, which is managed by the

Marketing Director. The often-seen salary of a Marketing Director pays from $40,054 to

$137,376 per year with an average of $78,319 per year (1). Potential Marketing Directors will

likely hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management or Marketing. Skills sought after in a

Marketing Director are creative thinking, strategic thinking, strong leadership, effective written

and oral communication skills, and computer literacy. As with every other area of the banking

industry, the Marketing department must adhere to regulations and laws concerning Marketing

practices. Responsibilities of the Marketing director comprise of developing the marketing

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strategy, managing the marketing mix, researching and reporting on opportunities, managing

budgets, and making customer focused decisions (15).

Simultaneously working behind the scenes and building relationships among employees

and customers is the Chief Information Officer, or CIO. A salary for a CIO can fall between

$81,226 and $219,521 per year with the average being $142,609 per year (1). An individual

holding a degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Management, Accounting,

Finance, or an MBA would have a solid foundation for working his or her way up to becoming a

CIO (16). Important skills for someone to be successful in the position of CIO consist of having

a good understanding of technology and how it relates to banking services, the ability to plan and

manage projects, the ability to work with people and interface between the “technical world” and

the “business world”, and most importantly – having the ability to do something different every

day and avoid getting stuck in a rut (16). Our CIO, John Orr, plans and manages projects in and

connected to the Technology Department, approves invoices, plans budgets, and manages vendor

relationships on a daily basis (16). John has over 18 years of experience in the Information and

Technology field and reveals that the most important part of his job is building relationships. In

order to do well, the CIO must remember to not solely focus on the “central core function” of

their job in order to maintain sight on the bigger picture (16).

Watching over the financial aspects of a bank is the Chief Financial Officer, or CFO. The

salary range for a CFO is between $64,863 and $201,898 per year with an average of $117,841

per year (1). A strong education in Accounting or Finance will have an individual who is striving

to become a CFO on the right track. Credentials that may provide an advantage to CFO

candidates comprise of: Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Public Accountant, Certified

Financial Planner, and especially a Master’s of Business Administration. Extensive financial

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management experience is demanded from banks in order to become a Chief Financial Officer

(17). The duties of a CFO consist of analyzing financial strengths and weaknesses of the bank,

planning for improvement, and monitoring cash flow while overseeing any other financial

activities of the organization (17). The CFO is in charge of the Accounting and Finance

departments in order to ensure that the bank’s financial reports are accurate and completed in a

timely manner (17). Skills that a bank looks for in a potential CFO include budget management,

financial analysis, strategic planning, forecasting, and financial reporting.

At the top of the bank stands the Chief Executive Officer, or CEO. A typical salary for a

CEO ranges from $69,114 to $304,568 per year with the average being $152,295 per year (1).

Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Management is highly

recommended, unless an individual has years of experience. In addition, more and more

organizations, including banks, are seeking candidates holding an MBA to fulfill their CEO

roles. The CEO is the highest ranking executive in the bank who presides over developing and

implementing upper-level strategies, making major organizational decisions, managing the

overall operations of the bank, and serves as the main line of communication among the board of

directors and corporate operations (18). There is no such thing as a “typical day” for a CEO;

however, an ideal CEO will be able to think strategically, focus on the big picture as well as

immediate tasks, have exceptional written and oral communication skills, possess strong

leadership skills, and be willing to accept responsibility for the outcomes of the bank as a whole.

The list of careers in banking does not end here. There exist many other positions and

opportunities for a wide range of individuals, including: Accountant, Treasury Manager, Risk

Manager, Investment Advisor, Technology Specialist, and everything in-between. As the world

of banking changes the way it handles business, it will also continue to change the way

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individuals work within the bank. Over the foreseeable future of banking we will continue to see

roles become more diverse, technical, and perhaps even obsolete.

Bibliography

(1) "Salaries." PayScale. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.payscale.com/search>.

(2) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/customer-service-representatives.htm>.

(3) Personal interview. Abigayle Berry, Retail Office Manager, Austin Bank. 2014.

(4) "Bank President Career." Bank President Education Requirements and College Majors. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.mymajors.com/career/bank-president/education/>.

(5) "Bank President Job Description." Bank President Job Description. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.jobsdescriptions.org/bank/bank-president.html>.

(6) Personal interview. Kim Raney, Senior Credit Analyst, Austin Bank. 2014.

(7) "Analyzing A Career In Credit Analysis." Investopedia. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-careers/09/career-credit-analysis-analyst.asp>.

(8) Personal interview. Manny DeLeon, Community Lender, Austin Bank. 2014.

(9) Personal interview. Shannon Seay, Special Assets, Austin Bank. 2014.

(10) Personal interview. Lisa Sampson, Manager Loan Operations, Austin Bank. 2014.

(11) Personal interview. Patty Morgan, Internal Auditor, Austin Bank. 2014.

(12) "Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA)." Certification. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <https://na.theiia.org/certification/CFSA-Certification/Pages/CFSA-Certification.aspx>.

(13) Personal interview. Lynn Littlejohn, Human Resources Director, Austin Bank. 2014.

(14) Personal interview. Keith Fletcher, Security Officer, Austin Bank. 2014.

(15) "The Role of the Marketing Manager." Marketing Made Simple. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.marketing-made-simple.com/articles/marketing-manager-role.htm#.VHPDz_nF9Fw>.

(16) Personal interview. John Orr, Chief Information Officer, Austin Bank. 2014.

(17) "Chief Financial Officer (CFO)." Investopedia. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cfo.asp>.

(18) "Chief Executive Officer (CEO)." Investopedia. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/ceo.asp>.

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