If you are a finance graduate and looking for a good career option, feel yourself as a lucky one. With new banking licenses, we are going to witness a whole new round of hiring spree in the banking and financial services Industry. Banks are organisations which services its customers with whole range of financial products and services. These may be broadly classified as
Transactional like current account, bill discounting, trade related services, etc
Assets like business loans, home loan, personal loans, infrastructure loans, working capital loans, agri financing etc
or
Liabilities like saving bank accounts, fixed deposits, mutual fund distribution, online stock broking etc.
These services are offered through online channel like websites, mobile banking or through branches. Banks also captures a franchisee channel by appointing DSAs or through para banking route.
Various departments in banks are
Distribution – Involves in opening of bank accounts or sales of financial products. It is a team which helps a bank in adding the number of accounts or relationships and thus increasing business. Generally, people with suitable qualification in finance and a good sales appetite are most suitable for these profile.
Branch banking– Banks majorly operates through its branches which are a single point of contact for any bank customer. These people not only manages and services the existing relationships of the banks but also adds new ones coming through references. Aspiring professionals for this profile should have a qualification in finance along with mandatory certification like NISM V-A (required for selling mutual fund) along with ability to manage relationships. Patient listener and problem solver is something which is a ‘must have’ for this career option.
Operations – With rapid changes in technology and increased focus on customer satisfaction, operations of various banks are centralized. As such banks now creates a very large size departments at select places which caters to a specific geographical area or number of branches. People with in depth understanding on concepts of finance and accounting are the ideal fit for his role.
Compliance/Audit/Internal control – With increasing compliance norms which a bank is required to follow, they are having no choice but to maintain a large size team to manage and keep a check internally. All the branches and other channels are regularly audited to avoid any frauds or non compliance. You need to be a CS or law professional to excel in this kind of profile however even graduates or postgraduate with their interest in audit and surveillance may also build their career in this field.
Customer Service – With a large size customer base, it becomes essential to service customers with different channels of customer service like branches, call center, online etc. In order to man these services, banks requires a huge manpower with essential skills like knowledge about banking and finance, customer first attitude, problem solving skills etc. Few banks also outsource these activities for cost rationalization.
Corporate banking/Private banking – It is one of the most high profile career option which deals with large corporates and high value customer as a single point of contact for all banking needs. Generally, people with experience in building and maintaining relationships becomes part of this group. Most of the time freshers are not hired here however few banks do so with the students coming from top business schools after they undergo rigorous training.
IT/ITES – Banking and Financial services Industry is among the largest customers of IT Industry. While most banks outsource technical development and maintenance of their systems and servers, few also run large size internal departments also. Technology professionals are required at all levels in such case.
It is a right time for people willing to enter Banking and financial services. The groups which have applied and are expecting to get their licences from RBI are already on the hiring spree, while others might start recruiting only after they are successful. So what are you waiting for, get your CV ready for this big opportunity.
