Personal Bankers provide individuals with financial advice and banking services, including checking and savings accounts, personal loans, mortgage loans, and some investment services. Some Personal Bankers are Savings Officers , who specialize in opening deposit accounts for customers. Some are Private Bankers, who specialize in providing financial advice and services that meet the complex needs of high net worth individuals.
Commercial Bankers provide a wide range of financial services, including checking accounts, loans, trust services, investment advice, and insurance services, to businesses. An individual working for a small, independent bank or branch of a holding company bank typically handles many of these functions. Someone who works for the lead bank of a large bank holding company would more likely specialize in a particular function.
Credit Analysts in financial institutions study the financial statements of their institutions' business borrowers. A financial institution must be careful to lend money only if it thoroughly understands the borrower's financial condition. Credit Analysts support business Loan Officers by determining the credit-worthiness of borrowers, and by monitoring the operating condition of firms that seek loans or to which loans have been extended.
Loan Officers are employed by commercial banks, thrifts, and mortgage banks. A Loan Officer studies characteristics of a loan applicant and the nature of the loan to determine whether the lending institution should lend funds, how much can safely be lent, and what conditions the borrower must meet. Credit Analysts report to Loan Officers, as do the Loan Servicing Officers who handle the collection of loan payments and oversee escrow accounts.
Trust Officers are investment managers who work in the trust departments of banks or other financial institutions. They manage money placed in their institutions' care, typically by individuals or organizations that lack the time or expertise to handle their own investments. The money is held in special trust department accounts, and is not commingled with the funds of the financial institutions' savings depositors.
Operations Officers manage the “back room” operations of commercial banks. Their primary task is facilitating the processing and clearing of checks.
Marketing Officers work to direct and enhance the marketing of financial institutions' services. They need both training in marketing and strong financial knowledge, since they must be able to understand and explain the financial applications embodied in the financial services they promote.
Bank Examiners do not work for financial institutions, but rather are employed by state or federal government bank regulatory agencies. These agencies include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state banking authorities. Examiners study loan files and other relevant information to assure that institutions are being properly managed for the protection of depositors. Much of their time is spent at depository institutions conducting on-site examinations.
Asset/Liability Managers try to sustain profits for their institutions by coordinating asset investments with liability exposures. Their primary task is to ensure that rising interest rates in financial markets could not cause their institutions to pay rates on deposits that exceed the rates earned on the loans made with those deposits.
Money Desk Specialists handle commercial banks' investments in short-term debt instruments such as Treasury bills, banker's acceptances, commercial paper, and certificates of deposit. They buy and sell these securities so their institutions can earn financial returns while maintaining liquidity to accommodate withdrawals from deposit accounts.
Derivatives Specialists work in the financial derivatives departments of large financial institutions. A derivative instrument is a means of transferring risk that already resides in the financial sector, so any derivatives exposure must be carefully selected and closely monitored. One type of Derivatives Specialist is the Swap Desk Officer, who manages an institution's exposure to a type of derivative in which the institution trades interest payment obligations with another party.
Investment banks do not accept deposits and make loans; they are specialized divisions of securities firms. Investment Bankers advise businesses or government agencies planning to raise large amounts of money, and then help in selling the new stocks or bonds that are issued to raise the funds .
