Careers
Banks run on diverse teams—from customer-facing advisors to risk, finance, and engineering. This guide maps common roles, what they do, the skills they value, and clear paths to grow your banking career.
Table of contents
- Overview of banking areas
- Frontline and retail banking roles
- Advisory and business banking
- Credit analysis and underwriting
- Operations and back office
- Risk, compliance, AML, and audit
- Finance, treasury, and capital markets
- Technology, data, and digital product
- Product, marketing, and customer experience
- HR, legal, procurement, and facilities
- Branch leadership and executive roles
- Core skills and education
- Career pathways and promotions
- Useful certifications
- Hiring and interview tips
- FAQs
Overview of banking areas
Most banks group roles into customer-facing lines (retail, small business, corporate), support functions (operations, risk, compliance, finance), and enablement (technology, product, marketing). Understanding these areas helps you target roles that match your strengths.
Retail banking Business & corporate banking Operations Risk & compliance Finance & treasury Technology & data Product & marketing Leadership & support
Frontline and retail banking roles
Teller / Client Service Representative
- Focus: Transactions, deposits, withdrawals, payments, basic troubleshooting.
- Skills: Accuracy, cash handling, customer empathy, fraud awareness.
- Path: Progress to Personal Banker or Operations roles.
Personal Banker / Relationship Banker
- Focus: Account opening, product advice, cross-sell (cards, loans, savings).
- Skills: Communication, needs analysis, compliance checks (KYC/AML).
- Path: Move to Assistant Branch Manager or Small Business Banker.
Assistant Branch Manager / Branch Manager
- Focus: Team leadership, sales goals, service quality, audit readiness.
- Skills: Coaching, metrics, risk controls, conflict resolution.
- Path: Regional leadership or corporate roles in sales ops.
Advisory and business banking
Small Business Banker
- Focus: Checking, lending, cash management, merchant services.
- Skills: Financial analysis, relationship building, industry insight.
- Path: Commercial RM or Credit Underwriter.
Commercial Relationship Manager (RM)
- Focus: Middle-market clients, lending facilities, portfolio growth.
- Skills: Complex credit structuring, negotiation, risk alignment.
- Path: Senior RM, Team Lead, or Product Specialist roles.
Wealth Advisor / Private Banker
- Focus: Investments, planning, estate strategies, bespoke lending.
- Skills: Fiduciary responsibility, market knowledge, client trust.
- Path: Senior advisory, portfolio management, leadership.
Credit analysis and underwriting
Credit Analyst
- Focus: Financial statements, cash flow, collateral, risk ratings.
- Skills: Modeling, writing, sector analysis, policy adherence.
- Path: Underwriter or Portfolio Manager.
Underwriter (Consumer, Mortgage, Commercial)
- Focus: Decisioning loans, pricing, terms, covenant design.
- Skills: Judgement, regulatory knowledge, scenario testing.
- Path: Senior Underwriter, Credit Policy, Risk Management.
Portfolio Manager
- Focus: Ongoing client performance, renewals, early warning.
- Skills: Monitoring, remediation, relationship coordination.
- Path: RM leadership, Credit Strategy.
Operations and back office
Operations Specialist / Clerk
- Focus: Payment processing, reconciliations, settlements.
- Skills: Process discipline, SLA management, accuracy.
- Path: Ops Lead, Process Improvement.
Payments & Cash Management
- Focus: ACH, wires, checks, merchant acquiring, liquidity.
- Skills: System fluency, risk controls, client training.
- Path: Product Ops, Treasury Services.
Fraud Operations
- Focus: Transaction monitoring, disputes, recovery.
- Skills: Pattern detection, communication, documentation.
- Path: AML Investigations, Risk Analytics.
Risk, compliance, AML, and audit
Risk Analyst (Credit, Market, Operational)
- Focus: Frameworks, limits, stress testing, reporting.
- Skills: Analytics, governance, stakeholder alignment.
- Path: Senior Risk, CRO track.
Compliance Officer
- Focus: Policies, training, testing, regulatory exams.
- Skills: Regulation fluency, communication, auditing.
- Path: Head of Compliance, Policy Leadership.
AML/KYC Investigator
- Focus: Customer due diligence, transaction reviews, SARs.
- Skills: Investigative rigor, documentation, tools.
- Path: AML Strategy, Financial Crimes leadership.
Internal Auditor
- Focus: Control assessments, process walkthroughs, findings.
- Skills: Independence, evidence testing, reporting.
- Path: Audit Director, Risk Governance.
Finance, treasury, and capital markets
Financial Analyst / FP&A
- Focus: Budgeting, forecasting, performance analytics.
- Skills: Modeling, variance analysis, storytelling.
- Path: Finance Manager, CFO track.
Treasury Analyst
- Focus: Liquidity, interest rate risk, funding, ALM.
- Skills: Balance sheet fluency, macro awareness, controls.
- Path: Treasury Manager, ALM lead.
Capital Markets / Trading (at larger banks)
- Focus: Sales & trading, syndication, market risk.
- Skills: Market intuition, risk discipline, client focus.
- Path: Desk leadership, product specialist.
Technology, data, and digital product
Software Engineer / Systems Administrator
- Focus: Core banking systems, integrations, security.
- Skills: SDLC, cloud, cybersecurity, reliability.
- Path: Tech Lead, Architecture.
Data Analyst / Data Scientist
- Focus: Insights, fraud detection, personalization, BI.
- Skills: SQL, Python/R, visualization, statistics.
- Path: Analytics Lead, Head of Data.
Digital Product Manager
- Focus: Mobile/web banking, payments, onboarding.
- Skills: Discovery, UX, prioritization, compliance alignment.
- Path: Senior PM, Product Director.
UX/UI Designer
- Focus: Accessible, compliant user journeys.
- Skills: Research, prototyping, WCAG, content design.
- Path: Design Lead, Product Design Manager.
Product, marketing, and customer experience
Product Marketing Manager
- Focus: Positioning, acquisition, lifecycle campaigns.
- Skills: Segmentation, analytics, compliance review.
- Path: Growth Lead, Marketing Director.
Customer Experience (CX)
- Focus: Journey maps, feedback loops, NPS/CSAT.
- Skills: Research synthesis, ops coordination.
- Path: CX Lead, Service Design.
Sales Operations
- Focus: Pipeline hygiene, incentives, tooling.
- Skills: CRM, reporting, enablement, governance.
- Path: RevOps Manager, Strategy.
HR, legal, procurement, and facilities
HR Generalist / Recruiter
- Focus: Hiring, onboarding, performance, culture.
- Skills: Stakeholder management, employment law basics.
- Path: HRBP, Talent Lead.
Legal Counsel
- Focus: Contracts, regulatory interpretation, disputes.
- Skills: Banking law, negotiation, risk communication.
- Path: Senior Counsel, GC track.
Procurement & Vendor Management
- Focus: Third-party risk, sourcing, SLAs.
- Skills: Cost modeling, contract terms, compliance.
- Path: Head of Procurement, TPRM Lead.
Branch leadership and executive roles
- Regional/Area Manager: Oversight of multiple branches—sales, service, compliance.
- Chief Risk Officer (CRO): Enterprise risk frameworks, oversight, and reporting.
- Chief Compliance Officer (CCO): Regulatory strategy, exams, remediation.
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Capital allocation, reporting, strategic planning.
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO)/CISO: Platform strategy, cyber defense, reliability.
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Vision, culture, governance, performance.
Core skills and education
- Customer communication: Clear, empathetic service and sales conversations.
- Numeracy and analysis: Comfort with financial statements, ratios, and risk.
- Regulatory awareness: KYC, AML, fair lending, data privacy basics.
- Digital fluency: Banking systems, spreadsheets, dashboards, CRM.
- Process orientation: Accuracy under controls and audit standards.
- Collaboration: Cross-functional work with risk, ops, product, and tech.
Education: Business, finance, economics, data, or IT degrees help—but strong internships, certifications, and projects can substitute.
Career pathways and promotions
Retail to leadership
- Start: Teller → Personal Banker → Assistant Manager → Branch Manager.
- Pivot: Sales ops or CX at head office.
Credit to risk
- Start: Credit Analyst → Underwriter → Portfolio Manager.
- Pivot: Risk Analytics → Policy → CRO track.
Ops to product/tech
- Start: Ops Specialist → Process Improvement.
- Pivot: Business Analyst → Product Manager → Tech Lead.
Data to strategy
- Start: Data Analyst → BI Lead.
- Pivot: Analytics Manager → Strategy/Finance leadership.
Useful certifications
- Risk & audit: FRM, PRM, CIA.
- Compliance & AML: CRCM, CAMS.
- Credit & analysis: CFA (broader finance), lending certificates.
- Data & tech: Cloud certs, security (CISSP), analytics (SQL/Python), Agile/PM.
- Wealth: CFP, Series licenses (where applicable).
Tip: Choose certs tied to your target role; stack experience with coursework and visible projects.
Hiring and interview tips
- Quantify impact: Use metrics (NPS, sales, error rates, recovery amounts) to prove results.
- Show controls: Describe how you met policy, audit, and risk guidelines.
- Customer scenarios: Prepare 2–3 stories showing empathy and resolution.
- Case prep: For credit roles, practice spreading financials and covenant reasoning.
- Digital proof: For tech/product, bring artifacts (roadmaps, dashboards, prototypes).
- Reg readiness: Know key acronyms (KYC, AML, UDAAP, SOX, Basel) for your lane.
FAQs
Do I need banking experience to get hired?
No. Customer service, sales, data, and tech skills transfer well. Internships, projects, and certifications help bridge the gap.
Is branch work still relevant with digital banking?
Yes. Branches focus on advice-heavy needs (lending, complex service) while routine tasks move to digital channels.
How do promotions typically work?
Performance, certifications, and mobility matter. Lateral moves across risk, operations, and product can accelerate growth.
What’s the difference between compliance and risk?
Compliance ensures regulatory adherence; risk sets frameworks to manage credit, market, and operational exposures.
Where do the highest-demand skills sit today?
Data analytics, digital product, cybersecurity, AML investigations, and customer advisory remain in demand across banks.