A commercial banking associate is in charge of selling a product line to both existing and potential customers. He could also help with customer account reviews and assessing the bank’s risk in extending credit. Associates are often on the lookout for new business opportunities for the bank, and they may conduct a report analysis to identify potential needs and selling opportunities. Some companies provide new college graduates with associate training programs that prepare them for future leadership roles.
A commercial banking associate acts as an intermediary between clients and the corporation in the majority of financial institutions. The majority of the associate’s responsibilities include sales, credit management, account service, and financial analysis in order to manage the client-firm relationship. Due to their knowledge of financial management techniques, college graduates, particularly those with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), are ideal candidates for these positions.
One of the most important aspects of being a commercial banking associate is meeting and interacting with current and potential clients. Clients are frequently questioned bank employees to determine how the bank’s products and services can best meet their needs. Associates may contact existing clients in a territory to ensure that they are happy with the bank’s service and to make suggestions for account upgrades or add-ons. The associate’s job also includes coming up with innovative ways to present sales pitches to potential clients.
A successful commercial banking associate looks for ways to boost the firm’s sales revenue maximizing the return on existing relationships and cultivating new ones. When the bank is looking for new business, the associate will almost certainly be involved in determining whether the bank can take certain financial risks. Disbursing a mortgage to a potential customer with a poor credit rating and insufficient income, for example, would almost certainly not be worth the bank’s additional revenue. In the long run, the company would lose more money because the customer is more likely to default on the loan.
Using financial tools to conduct an analysis is one of the ways a commercial banking associate can assist in assessing a bank’s potential risk. Credit reports, deposit histories, market indexes or averages, and debt-to-income ratios are examples of information that associates may work with other departments to locate and analyze. Another common tool used banks to determine how far they will go to keep or acquire a client’s business is customer value analysis.
In some financial institutions, commercial banking associate positions may be used as a training position for new college graduates. As part of the job, associates will have the opportunity to work with mentors, practice their leadership skills, and attend bank-sponsored classes. The training period, also known as the learning curve, can last anywhere between six months and a year.