BANKING (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Banking is people - people dedicated to performing a wide range of financial services for others to make their lives easier and more productive. It involves high finance, public relations, advertising, regulating economies, operating gigantic computers, and counseling people on how to manage their financial affairs. Occupations within the field include: loan representative, branch manager, operations assistant, trust officer.

Office and administrative support occupations account for nearly 7 out of 10 jobs in the banking industry. Bank tellers, the largest number of workers in banking, provide routine financial services to the public. They handle customers’ deposits and withdrawals, change money, sell money orders and traveler’s checks, and accept payment for loans and utility bills. Increasingly, tellers also are selling bank services to customers. New accounts clerks and customer service representatives answer questions from customers, and help them open and close accounts and fill out forms to apply for banking services. They are knowledgeable about a broad array of bank services and must be able to sell those services to potential clients. Some customer service representatives work in a call or customer contact center environment, taking phone calls and answering emails from customers. In addition to responding to inquiries, these workers also help customers over the phone with routine banking transactions and handle and resolve problems or complaints.

Loan and credit clerks assemble and prepare paperwork, process applications, and complete the documentation after a loan or line of credit has been approved. They also verify applications for completeness. Bill and account collectors attempt to collect payments on overdue loans. Many general office clerks and bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are employed to maintain financial records, enter data, and process the thousands of deposit slips, checks, and other documents that banks handle daily. Banks also employ many secretaries, data entry and information processing workers, receptionists, and other office and administrative support workers. Office and administrative support worker supervisors and managers oversee the activities and training of workers in the various administrative support occupations.

Management, business, and financial occupations account for about 25 percent of employment in the banking industry. Financial managers direct bank branches and departments, resolve customers’ problems, ensure that standards of service are maintained, and administer the institutions’ operations and investments. Loan officers evaluate loan applications, determine an applicant’s ability to pay back a loan, and recommend approval of loans. They usually specialize in commercial, consumer, or mortgage lending. When loans become delinquent, loan officers, or loan counselors, may advise borrowers on the management of their finances or take action to collect outstanding amounts. Loan officers also play a major role in bringing in new business and spend much of their time developing relationships with potential customers. Trust officers manage a variety of assets that were placed in trust with the bank for other people or organizations; these assets can include pension funds, school endowments, or a company’s profit-sharing plan. Sometimes, trust officers act as executors of estates upon a person’s death. They also may work as accountants, lawyers, and investment managers.

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents, who make up the majority of sales positions in banks, sell complex banking services. They contact potential customers to explain their services and to ascertain the customer’s banking and other financial needs. They also may discuss services such as deposit accounts, lines of credit, sales or inventory financing, certificates of deposit, cash management, or investment services. These sales agents also solicit businesses to participate in consumer credit card programs. At most small and medium-size banks, however, branch managers and commercial loan officers are responsible for marketing the bank’s financial services.

Occupation Highlights

• Banking employment is projected to grow more slowly than average as consolidation and automation make banks more efficient.
• Office and administrative support workers constitute nearly 7 out of 10 jobs; tellers account for more than1 out of 4 jobs.
• Employment of tellers will increase more slowly than average, but job openings should be plentiful because the occupation is large and many tellers leave their jobs every year and must be replaced.
• Employment growth is expected in management and professional jobs, as well as for customer service representatives and securities and financial services sales representatives.

Earnings of non-supervisory bank employees averaged $458 a week in 2002, compared with $632 for all workers in finance and insurance industries, and $506 for workers throughout the private sector. Relatively low pay in the banking industry reflects the high proportion of low-paying administrative support jobs.

Additional Resources

American Bankers Association
1120 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-BANKERS
www.aba.com

Occupational Outlook Handbook (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
www.bls.gov/oco

Citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Career Guide to Industries, 2004-05 Edition, Banking, on the Internet at www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs027.htm