Where?
Large branches, regional centres and on the road
Employers?
All the big banks.
Where does the role fit in?
Small and medium-sized businesses are hugely important customers. Not only do banks earn fees from them for handling their large transaction volumes (payments, salary processing, etc), but such customers also borrow large sums of money to finance their operations, buy new equipment and fund international trade.
However, they are also very risky customers; sadly, most small businesses don’t even last 3 years.
Managing these relationships and analysing the opportunities and risks is therefore a complex and rewarding role.
The way in which business banking fits within the organisation is complex. There is an obvious relationship with the retail branch network. Most people setting up their own business will want to go and talk to their branch manager about it. That feeds straight into the business banking division. Business bankers are therefore often based in larger bank branches in order to be accessible to their customers. Additional specialist support is provided in larger local centres.
Equally, business bankers can generate custom for the retail and premier bank areas, as business owners look to borrow money for a mortgage or to invest their personal wealth. As a result, some banks manage their business banking division as part of their retail operations.
However, some larger business customers have quite complicated banking needs, ranging from large loans to foreign exchange and trade finance. And, of course, today’s medium-sized business may become tomorrow’s large corporation. So, some banks include business banking within their corporate banking group, which deals with the complex needs of larger companies.
There are many specialist roles in both business and corporate banking. Some involve managing very complex financial products, while others are about the management of risk and the need to analyse the likely success of these risky customers. There are also specialist divisions that look after the particular needs of certain types of business – for example, every major bank has an agriculture division.
What you do
As a business banker, don’t expect to spend your whole day in the office. You will need to go out and about, meeting customers – both for general customer service purposes, and to make sure that the office building they are looking to finance actually exists!
Key functions will include:
- customer acquisition – finding new customers, or more probably, assessing the new customers that come to your bank and determining the services they require;
- customer relationship management – making sure customers are happy and dealing with any problems they may have, as well as helping them to apply for new loans or other services;
- customer development – customers will come to you with business propositions, asking the bank for support, usually in the form of a loan. You will look at the requirement and determine what type of financing will best suit their needs;
- decision-making and risk management – helping the customer to borrow is all well and good, but you have to make sure that the bank will get its money back. Risk management is a massive part of what banks do these days, and is a function in its own right. However, as the local business banker, it is up to you to do the initial assessment and carry out ‘due diligence’ procedures – checking the customer’s financial status, how well the business is performing, etc. This is not just important to the bank (which obviously wants to ensure that it will get its money back, with interest), but also to the customer, who doesn’t want to see their business go under because they borrowed too much or in the wrong way.
What you need to get the job
All candidates will need a combination of qualities, including:
- the ability to be analytical
- excellent interpersonal skills
- trustworthiness, yet with an entrepreneurial spirit
- good written and numerical skills
Not surprisingly, banks will generally expect people entering business banking to have several GCSE passes at C or above and these should usually include Maths and English.
Many, if not all, banks will test your communication skills as part of the selection process, and for some companies your performance in this test is more important than paper qualifications.
School leavers
Business banking is an entry point for both school leavers and graduates.
School leavers are likely to commence their career as customer service and sales representatives dealing with customers either in large branches or in contact centres. Experience could mean you will be able to enter the management programme, especially if you acquire relevant qualifications. Indeed, many banks are specifically looking to bolster their business banking teams with non-graduate entrants.
Graduate entry schemes
With an increasing need for strong analytical skills, most banks have a graduate entry path aimed specifically at the business and corporate banking business – normally for graduates in a business-related subject.
Those banks requiring graduate entry normally ask for a degree at 2:1 level or above – although most will accept a 2:2 from really exceptional candidates. Graduate entrants will often be inducted into the management trainee stream, with the potential for rapid progression. These formal graduate programmes will be very similar to other graduate programmes throughout the bank with the same pattern of development.
Career prospects
Most business bankers effectively start as relationship managers, often after a general training role. Over time, and as you collect both qualifications and experience, you will handle more complex customers and more complex products.
Career paths can include:
- becoming a specialist relationship manager, with the potential for large bonuses
- moving into a specialist relationship area, such as banking services for agriculture, or for professionals such as dentists and lawyers
- developing a product-based specialism, such as advising on specialist loans or trade finance
- moving into corporate banking to manage relationships or products for more complex customers – see Corporate Finance
- moving into a support specialism such as
Each path offers a route to senior management, either in a specialism or within the business banking group as a whole.
Qualifications and career progression
Business banking is a complex area, and requires staff to have a broad understanding of customer management, products and risk management. There are three routes to career development through qualifications.
- Certificate options – the route to senior management:
The ifs' Professional Certificate in Banking (PCertB®) provides an important pathway for business and corporate banking professionals. Another route (which many people will go into directly) is to take the ifs’ degree programme, which leads to the awarding of a BSc Hons degree – see BSc (Hons) in Banking Practice and Management.
Whether individuals study for the PCertB® or the degree, banks are keen for their business bankers to get professional qualifications. These are a way of demonstrating real career progression and an ability to manage and understand advanced products and customer management.
- Developing customer management skills:
The ifs School of Finance runs a number of customer relationship management courses with specific banks, leading to Certificate-level awards. Each bank will also support its staff with specific training in their own systems and special customer management and sales techniques. They will also provide the training in such areas as spotting potential money laundering or fraud threats.
- Specialist skills
The ifs offers a number of specialist qualifications which are of interest to business bankers. One such course is the Certificate in Commercial Mortgages (CeCM) for those specialising in commercial mortgages.
Income
Starting salaries
These vary from role to role, but are broadly as set out below.
£18,000 - £24,000 for a trainee business banker, plus potential for joining bonuses on entry.
Career incomes - for those staying in the branch network
£30,000 - £50,000 plus bonuses, with on-target earnings (OTE) of up to £75,000 for commercial relationship managers.
£45,000 - £60,000 plus bonuses for business banking managers.
£100,000+ for senior managers.
Many banks will offer a large town allowance for staff who need to live in expensive areas, or commute. Outside London, this will be around £1,000-2,000, where it is paid. In London you can expect an extra £2,000-3,000.
Of course, banks also offer good packages of pensions and other benefits. These may not be of much interest to you now . . . but in the future they will be important!