Commercial Banking
Anybody work in commercial banking (CB), or used to? What was your career progression like? What did you do prior or post-CB? I bounced around in various industries post-undergrad before landing in CB as an Analyst. Five years later with the same bank, I'm in a senior position with an AVP title, but I'm a bit lost. I enjoy the work-life balance but aspire to do more, in the sense that I'm willing to work more hours for more TC (single and in my mid-20s). Also contemplated returning to school for an MBA or perhaps a bootcamp for data analytics to possibly open the doors to possibly a transition into tech/fintech. Any shared insight/experiences are greatly appreciated -
TC? Currently an analyst, but transferring internally to a specified industry as an underwriter!
Base of 90k, annual bonus of up to 12% of base based on various individual/bank goals.
For mid 20s it’s not bad by commercial banking standards. You should be making 150-200k tc by 30.
Haha facts!
Are you advocating for sticking in commercial banking vs. venturing out? I interned at a small boutique firm in LA a while ago making pitchbooks, but never pursued a FT position in IB.
Commercial banking sucks. You won't get close to iBanking once you are stuck with CB. I work at an investment bank OWNED by a commercial bank & it already sucks. Get out of there & make use of your brain somewhere else please
What would I have to do to transition into anything else? I only have a BA in Finance (not a top-tier institution) and no certs like CFA/CPA, etc.
CFA is about security valuation & CPA is about accounting & taxes. To get into hitech finance, you don't need any of these. Just try hard to network with people already in the organizations you want to get into & show your drive. Learn from reading & thinking about why things happen the way they do. Being tech savvy is helpful too!
I have worked in commercial banking for 15 years now, choking regulations make the every day Life of getting anything done miserable now, I would not advise anyone to pursue a career in this space. You can make more in wealth management but I'm sure they are in the same regulatory environment if not more so.
Regulation sucks but it’s coming to other areas too. It’s just a matter of time. Cancerous growth of government seems unstoppable, it gets its fat fingers in every industry while proletariat is cheering
What sort of advanced degree or certification(s) would be needed to break into wealth management? (CFP, CFA, etc.?) I'm in a position to move into a sales role in the near future or PM - but I'd like to plan for an exit strategy if the time ever came to act on it.
It's not just regulation. The penny pinching culture of commercial banking drives morale down. For instance, every network printer defaults to black & white & you have to go through THAT MANY extra steps to print or scan something in color!! Yes our clients & executive managers want to see presentation in paper occasionally because they are not all millennials!
Just be glad your printers work. We got "upgraded" printers and they seem to be down half the time.
What is commercial banking
Is an AVP title considered senior in commercial banking? I have 4 YOE overall and I joined the bank this year with VP
No, also depends on the organization but to be honest I believe at most places the titles don't really translate into anything unless you are in a management role.
Yes - at least it is at my bank. I was brought on board last year in Q1 as a Senior Analyst with 2 YOE.
An MBA will not get you anywhere. I have occasionally witnessed attempted overt favoritism toward fellow MBAs from certain schools, but by and large they are outed as charlatans and move on. You need to establish credibility through your education, training and experience. If you want a bridge into analytics and are not already involved, I would try to get involved in any analytics your team now does, or longer term, do one of those one-year masters in analytics programs like the University of Minnesota and other schools have. I have seen a bunch. Note that even if what you do is operational, there is still an analytical component. Poke around and ask where your team data goes and ask if you can get involved. If you happen to be in Minnesota or Massachusetts and want to learn more, attend the free Minneanalytics conferences held throughout the year.
What’s the question?
The three at the beginning of the post: Anybody work in commercial banking (CB), or used to? What was your career progression like? What did you do prior or post-CB?
Ok, I’m in a commercial bank. I came from consulting commercial banks. My career in consulting is trivial: I had no career, just consulted one after another until I got sick of it. I made good money and thought knew it all, how banks work, but realize now that it was all from outside point of view. Things seem different when you’re inside a bank