How to become a Banker

A banker is a professional who offers advice regarding financial matters, particularly regarding bank operations and services. These professionals assist their clients by providing them with information about the products/services that best suit the client`s needs. Their clients can be either individuals or corporations, depending upon the banker`s specialization area. Simply put, they provide expert financial advice geared towards assisting the client with their banking needs. The job requires excellent customer service skills in order to determine accurately the client`s needs and offer reliable solutions in accordance with their requirements.

For those who enjoy crunching numbers and possess sharp analytical skills with a business sense, this job is an excellent fit. The demand for these professionals is high as the banking sector is the cornerstone of the nation`s economic framework. Some of the major branches under this title include Retail banker, Investment Banker, Corporate banker to name a few. Therefore, these individuals work in terms of receiving and even paying the money in a professional flow. They also keep thorough records in terms of managing and handling money and various other negotiable things and aspects that are involved in the financial institutions in terms of their various transactions. They tend to verify the accuracy of the financial and transactional aspects of the various departments within the branch of a particular bank. They also tend to collect deposits, make payments or even process drafts and calculate other financial data within the professional sphere of the banking sector.

For each client, a banker shall start by understanding the particular needs of the client. Further, the banker shall analyze the client's current financial standing upon compiling information about the client's loans, credit history, property evaluations, financial statements before proceeding to offer solutions to their specific financial requirements. The particulars of a banker's job duties differ as per their specialization:

Retail bankers:

• Educate the client on various banking products and services in accordance with their needs
• Assist in the recruitment and training process of the banking staff
• Resolving customer queries and dealing with complaints 
• Assist clients in opening and closing bank accounts 

Private Banker:

• Consult with the client to understand their 
• Provide assistance with end-to-end banking operations and maintain privacy of the client's financial information
• Undertake financial research to provide advice regarding financial strategies to enhance assets

Corporate Banker: 

• Gather information about the client's specific financial needs and provide recommendations to promote the bank's products and services
• Provide advice regarding matters of acquisition, mergers, and related events
• Authorise the approval of and provide recommendations about loans

Merchant Banker:

• Provide advisory services to raise capital for businesses
• Assist businesses to register, buy, sell shares on behalf of the client
• Research the current market trends, investment opportunities, equity shares

An individual must possess high numerical aptitude supplemented with sharp analytical skills. Financial analysis and financial modelling skills are paramount to success in this job. Customer-service skill is of necessity as well, since much of the job shall require one to establish fruitful, long-term relationships with the clients and gain a thorough understanding of their requirements in order to offer banking solutions to them. Salesmanship and the ability to negotiate are other elements that may be required as the banker shall have to pitch products/services and boost sales. This also necessitates excellent communication skills, both spoken and written.

Time management and organization skills are important to carry out the tasks that accompany this job. Proficiency in the relevant software programs and database maintenance tools are key to effectively handle sensitive data regarding finances. Extensive knowledge of banking instruments, products, and services is crucial, in addition to that of banking regulations, rules, and procedures. To be a banker, the individual must be a critical thinker with excellent problem-solving skills with a customer-centric approach to business.

There are a lot of other skills and capabilities that are involved in this particular profession. A few of them are discussed ahead. Active listening is one aspect that is considered highly important in terms of providing absolute attention to the people (the probable and the actual clients). They take time to understand various pointers, ask very tactful, precise and appropriate questions. These professionals also are quite good in their guiding skills as they have the tendency to guide the clients for financial purposes. Bankers are supposed to have strong critical and analytical skills. This informs to their mental capacity to stay informed in terms of the financial aspects of that company, work on their various projects and also critically understand the tally sheets and other documents to be worked on. This also includes the aspect of monitoring and assessing thoroughly every employee's performance pertaining to the increased revenue of the bank.

1. Commercial banking
2. Investment banking
3. Retail banking
4. Private banking
5. Corporate banking
6. Asset management
7. Insurance
8. Fintech
9. Wealth management
10. Government banking