Banking Sector - Career Path

[ctzehock]

My mum's a private banker, but she definitely does not earn more than a million lol

haha.. that was what i heard.. hmm, but do you know what are the job scope that your mum does??

 

[ctzehock]

if you're not very ambitious/talented, there's absolutely nothing wrong with going into ops. I don't understand why people view ops so negatively. After all, the pay is pretty good esp if you are in the foreign banks. And it is much less cut-throat than Front Office.

Hi HappyGoLucky22,

u seem to have some experience working under ops, care to share what are the day-to-day job scope??

 

[ctzehock]

Hmm, their job scope is rather subjective and it varies from bank to bank. Basically they earn by managing the portfolios of their clients. More clients=more money. Some of them make major financial decisions for the bank and such. Yes the top honchos earn freaking ALOT.

Actually you do stand a chance in the industry. Excel in your course and fly over to LSE. Graduate with a FCH and get a masters from a reputable school. These are the tickets needed as the barriers to entry to the industry is very high indeed. Just be confident of what you are doing.

that really sounds good, but i'm not that ambitious to really go fight with the cream of the crops out there.. nevertheless, financial support will be a big issue here as well.

 

[ctzehock]

Does anybody know of any financial analyst?? what are their job scope?? and how's their salary??

 

[eyelined]

Does anybody know of any financial analyst?? what are their job scope?? and how's their salary??

Financial analyst sounds like for those with Econs degree?
Right or wrong?

 

[lunacy1983]

I think you have to consider which part of a bank you want to work in. Banks are so huge that they have a lot of different departments which you can move about.

Front office - Sales, sales and more sales. I think they range from the tellers, credit card salesman, personal bankers, wealth managers, investment banker etc. Of course, it is almost impossible to be an investment banker in Singapore since most of them are usually situated in US, UK or HK. (Have a few friends with Barclays London and HSBC HK) You could try if you have a driven personality. The remuneration is definitely tip top if you are outstanding. However, turnover is also the highest. Be prepared to face the axe soon as you begin under performing.

Middle office - Operations. Most of them deal with risk, compliance, marketing, trading, product development etc. They deal with external factors which the bank has to keep in touch with, especially MAS. Trading includes execution of trades, hedging.

Bank office - Analysts, Finance, HR. Analysts compile data from the day to day running of the bank as well as markets worldwide. Prepare for OTs as data from foreign countries will be late due to time lag, inefficiencies etc. Banks usually do a DAILY detailed profit & loss as well as bank reconciliation. In general, analyst do many different range of data collection. It really depends which department you enter as an analyst.

This is just a rough guide on what's inside a bank from my experience as an auditor. Hope this will help you. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

 

[ctzehock]

I think you have to consider which part of a bank you want to work in. Banks are so huge that they have a lot of different departments which you can move about.

Front office - Sales, sales and more sales. I think they range from the tellers, credit card salesman, personal bankers, wealth managers, investment banker etc. Of course, it is almost impossible to be an investment banker in Singapore since most of them are usually situated in US, UK or HK. (Have a few friends with Barclays London and HSBC HK) You could try if you have a driven personality. The remuneration is definitely tip top if you are outstanding. However, turnover is also the highest. Be prepared to face the axe soon as you begin under performing.

Middle office - Operations. Most of them deal with risk, compliance, marketing, trading, product development etc. They deal with external factors which the bank has to keep in touch with, especially MAS. Trading includes execution of trades, hedging.

Bank office - Analysts, Finance, HR. Analysts compile data from the day to day running of the bank as well as markets worldwide. Prepare for OTs as data from foreign countries will be late due to time lag, inefficiencies etc. Banks usually do a DAILY detailed profit & loss as well as bank reconciliation. In general, analyst do many different range of data collection. It really depends which department you enter as an analyst.

This is just a rough guide on what's inside a bank from my experience as an auditor. Hope this will help you. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

This is certainly one of the most helpful post ever.. thanks

 

[eyelined]

I think you have to consider which part of a bank you want to work in. Banks are so huge that they have a lot of different departments which you can move about.

Front office - Sales, sales and more sales. I think they range from the tellers, credit card salesman, personal bankers, wealth managers, investment banker etc. Of course, it is almost impossible to be an investment banker in Singapore since most of them are usually situated in US, UK or HK. (Have a few friends with Barclays London and HSBC HK) You could try if you have a driven personality. The remuneration is definitely tip top if you are outstanding. However, turnover is also the highest. Be prepared to face the axe soon as you begin under performing.

Middle office - Operations. Most of them deal with risk, compliance, marketing, trading, product development etc. They deal with external factors which the bank has to keep in touch with, especially MAS. Trading includes execution of trades, hedging.

Bank office - Analysts, Finance, HR. Analysts compile data from the day to day running of the bank as well as markets worldwide. Prepare for OTs as data from foreign countries will be late due to time lag, inefficiencies etc. Banks usually do a DAILY detailed profit & loss as well as bank reconciliation. In general, analyst do many different range of data collection. It really depends which department you enter as an analyst.

This is just a rough guide on what's inside a bank from my experience as an auditor. Hope this will help you. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

awesome man

 

[Petrelli_83]

Financial analyst sounds like for those with Econs degree?
Right or wrong?

More for accountants and business students actually.

 

[eyelined]

More for accountants and business students actually.

:O then study econs for what?!

 

[lunacy1983]

The thing about an economics degree is that you have to excel in it to get a very good job. If not, it is rather hard to even get one.

 

[strangerjun]

Hi,

If it was so easy and direct, many people would be working in bank or in accountancy films, getting their dream jobs
Who would want to go local uni or overseas uni?

You also must have a clear idea which part of the bank operations you wish to work in. If you think by arming yourself with a SIM degree or any degrees could land your dream job so easily, then you are very wrong.

I am not here to put you down, but I hope you are mentally prepared and realistic about your ambition. I want to tell you that contacts are more important.

 

[lunacy1983]

Hi,

If it was so easy and direct, many people would be working in bank or in accountancy films, getting their dream jobs
Who would want to go local uni or overseas uni?

You also must have a clear idea which part of the bank operations you wish to work in. If you think by arming yourself with a SIM degree or any degrees could land your dream job so easily, then you are very wrong.

I am not here to put you down, but I hope you are mentally prepared and realistic about your ambition. I want to tell you that contacts are more important.

Totally agree with you. Its more like the overall package rather than the paper qualification itself.

For instance, I think that getting to make some useful acquaintances during an internship is far more important than out performing fellow interns.

From what I have seen, many people manage to get a job through someone they know rather than what they possess. Afterall, the job market is the same as the sales market. Contacts play a vital role.

 

[ctzehock]

thanks for all of the reply, but i think i shall continue accountancy then move on to ACCA..

 

[amerell]

:O then study econs for what?!

You can easily get a job in corporate finance or a job as an economist inside a reserve bank , that is provided if you have high honours in your economics degree.

 

[Hymnody]

1. BAF: since you have had accounting experience during poly days, you would have more or less know whether you like what you're doing or not.

2. BBF: i think i will biasly generalise that...study banking doesn't mean can become banker..lol. it's actually a very general degree like..business.

3. BEF: hardest course among all the options. You should have taken micro and macro before in poly. if you are not strong in economics, avoid this path

P.S: chances are, you will be doing the bridging course and start with year 2. BAF seems to be the safest choice for you. Lastly, if you intend to further your studies after your undergrad, that's another story.

just my 2 cents.

regards

 

[eyelined]

You can easily get a job in corporate finance or a job as an economist inside a reserve bank , that is provided if you have high honours in your economics degree.

oh awesome. thanks

 

[Yaco99]

Wall of text.

One of the most important thing would be to determine which side of the banking sector you want to go to first though.

If you are a people-person that is good at talking to people, especially when it comes to convincing them to see your point of view, sales would be a good option for you to choose.

Plus side, it's the front office where you get to meet loads and loads of people and make useful contacts. Your clients may become your good friends and there are benefits to be reaped from there. Kinda a gray area though.

It's also one of the main revenue center for banks. As a result, hefty bonuses are paid to those who perform. In most parts of sales, apart from some like investment banking where there are more criteria, once you get that initial first job, the value of your degree goes out the window as the results of your performance is highly visible in your sales figure. If you are really good, you can find yourself getting pay advancement faster then most other routes. You bring in the money, you get the money.

There also lies the negative side though. Most of your pay comes from your sales results instead of your base salary. If you realise that you are horrible at sales, get out asap as the money you make will be crap and it's likely you will be axed the moment they get a chance. No one cares about your 1st class honors or your summa cum laude if you can't sell. You can be easily and quickly replaced.

Do note that sales in banks may not be what you normally think of when you think of sales though. Getting your client to take up a term deposit or a loan is a sale too.

If you are someone that aren't really comfortable around strangers or don't like to make the first move to talk to people, back office jobs might be more suitable for you. Back office are typically defined as anything part of the bank that does not generate revenue but is needed for the bank to function properly. Examples include compliance, risk management, securities settlements and basically almost anything with operations in its name.

What you do would normally be rather repetitive jobs that would involve some sort of data processing and paper work. Sure, the data and numbers may change but what you do with them doesn't.

Since it doesn't generate revenue, unless you wish to count all the misc fees that are charged, your pay doesn't increase as fast as someone working in the front office, given the same number of years. Experience would count more in this part as the longer you work, the more screw-ups you have seen and the more you know to avoid them.

However, it's more forgiving and stable as well. The best and worst performing sales person may have a highly visible 10x difference in their results, making it a simple choice between who to keep when crunch time comes. In back offices, how good you are isn't that easily apparent. You working OT everyday doesn't necessary mean that you are a good and hard worker. You might just be slow. Or that your workload is more. It's really not as easy for the boss to figure out who the better worker is at times. And you are less likely to be replaced since they are usually too lazy to want to hire a new staff who might not be that much better then you and they have to spend time to retrain them. It's usually the staff themselves who resign themselves due to being unable to deal with the boring or heavy workload or have found better options elsewhere. It's more common for that when someone from the front offices leaves, he is fired while the back office guys resigns, discounting the job hopping part.

Best idea would be to try and get some working experience in a few banks first though. Even a temp job can give you the chance to know the workings of bank better and get to talk to the people working there.

 

[ctzehock]

hmm.. Thanks for the really big wall of text, but i read everything

I would say that i'm generally not a sale person..i can talk but can't sell, so i'm not really aiming the front line, not that ambitious either

I'm more interested in the back end office.. What degree ish better?? As in what degree can lead me to which job in the back office??

 

[Agravaine]

Hmmm.. I've worked in banks before. It's tough.

Do you aspire to be a manager?

Do you aspire to manage customer portfolio worth millions spamming across countries?

Do you aspire to handle mega transaction? Millions? Billions?

Honestly... but not to pull you down. First... can you speak, write, network, perform better and calculate faster than Ivy League graduates..? Can you work long hours? Go home at 10pm, 2am? Honestly I can't take the stress.

So if you can't.... then you probably got to aim lower. At easier side such as consumer lending or even sales. =)

Which department did you work at?