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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Banking Officer

💰 $45,000 - $95,000

BankingFinanceRiskComplianceCustomer Service

🎯 Role Definition

A Banking Officer is a client-facing and operations-focused professional responsible for managing customer relationships, executing banking transactions, assessing credit and risk, ensuring regulatory and compliance adherence (including KYC/AML), and supporting branch or relationship management objectives. This role requires strong financial analysis, attention to detail, and excellent customer service skills to drive revenue through deposit growth, loan origination, cross-sell of bank products, and efficient branch operations. The Banking Officer acts as a point of escalation for complex customer requests while collaborating with underwriting, operations, compliance, and product teams to deliver secure, compliant, and profitable banking solutions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Teller / Senior Teller
  • Customer Service Representative in banking
  • Loan Processor or Credit Analyst (entry-level)

Advancement To:

  • Senior Banking Officer / Relationship Manager
  • Branch Manager or Assistant Branch Manager
  • Commercial Banking Officer / Small Business Banking Manager
  • Credit Manager / Underwriting Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Compliance Analyst (KYC/AML specialization)
  • Treasury Operations or Cash Management Specialist
  • Product Specialist (cards, deposits, lending)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Build, manage and grow a portfolio of retail and small-business clients by proactively identifying opportunities for deposit growth, consumer and commercial lending, and cross-selling bank products (credit cards, mortgages, cash management, merchant services).
  • Conduct end-to-end loan origination activities including client intake, needs assessment, preparation and submission of credit applications, documentation verification, and coordination with underwriting to achieve timely loan decisions.
  • Perform comprehensive credit and risk assessments for consumer, mortgage, and small-business loan requests: analyze financial statements, cash flows, tax returns, credit bureau reports, collateral documentation and prepare credit memoranda with clear risk/return recommendations.
  • Execute KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures for new and existing clients, maintain up-to-date customer due diligence (CDD) records, and escalate suspicious activities in accordance with regulatory requirements and internal policy.
  • Serve as the primary point-of-contact for complex customer inquiries, complaints, and escalations; resolve issues by collaborating with operations, product, and compliance teams while ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction.
  • Open, maintain, and close deposit accounts (checking, savings, CDs), ensuring accurate account setup, signature authority, and adherence to deposit account documentation and disclosure requirements.
  • Maintain accurate transaction processing and cash handling practices, including daily balancing, vault management, and reconciliation to minimize operational risk and ensure audit readiness.
  • Monitor portfolio performance metrics, delinquency levels, covenant compliance and trigger remediation plans or workout strategies for at-risk clients in collaboration with credit recovery and collections teams.
  • Prepare and present periodic portfolio reports, credit summaries and lending proposals to branch or regional management, including profit & loss impact and planned remediation actions.
  • Execute proactive outreach campaigns to retain customers, reduce attrition, and increase wallet share via targeted product offers, renewals, and digital adoption coaching.
  • Ensure timely and accurate regulatory reporting and documentation, including suspicious activity reports (SARs), CTRs (Currency Transaction Reports) and other filings as required by law and internal policies.
  • Facilitate account and loan closings: coordinate legal documentation, title checks, lien searches and ensure satisfaction of closing conditions prior to funding or account activation.
  • Conduct regular reviews and audits of account files to ensure accuracy, completeness and compliance with internal controls and regulatory standards; implement corrective action plans for identified gaps.
  • Support branch sales targets and revenue goals by preparing customized pricing, fee structures and product bundles consistent with bank policy and profitability targets.
  • Train and mentor junior staff, tellers and new hires on front-line banking processes, compliance obligations, and customer service best practices to maintain consistent service delivery.
  • Work with technology and operations teams to onboard and educate customers on digital banking tools (online banking, mobile deposits, ACH origination) and drive adoption to reduce manual processing.
  • Coordinate complex payments and treasury services requests (wire transfers, ACH, payroll services) ensuring proper authorization, documentation and fraud controls are applied.
  • Maintain current knowledge of banking products, interest rate environments, market trends, and regulatory changes to provide relevant advice to clients and identify market-driven opportunities.
  • Participate in credit committees or internal risk forums by presenting credit cases, answering due diligence questions and implementing committee decisions.
  • Implement and maintain effective internal controls for transaction monitoring, lending processes and account management to minimize fraud, compliance and operational risk.
  • Lead or participate in community outreach, referral networks and business development activities to cultivate new relationships and support the bank’s local market presence.
  • Coordinate with legal, tax, and external advisors for complex client matters (cross-border transactions, commercial real estate closings, corporate restructurings) to ensure compliant execution.

Secondary Functions

  • Support internal and external audit requests by compiling account files, transaction histories, loan documentation and remediation evidence; assist in implementing audit recommendations.
  • Contribute to process improvement initiatives to streamline onboarding, documentation, and loan processing workflows that reduce turnaround time and operational costs.
  • Assist product and risk teams with competitive analysis, pricing inputs and market feedback to inform development or refinement of deposit, lending and fee-based services.
  • Participate in credit and compliance training updates and help develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for branch staff to ensure consistent policy application.
  • Collaborate with digital transformation teams to provide operational requirements, test new features and ensure customer-facing changes align with regulatory and compliance needs.
  • Support ad-hoc management reporting and business analytics requests by providing transactional insights, portfolio performance data, and customer segmentation observations.
  • Serve as a liaison between the branch and centralized operations, escalating exceptions or systemic issues and driving corrective actions to completion.
  • Participate in special projects related to mergers & acquisitions, branch openings/closures, and system conversions, providing subject-matter expertise on client and credit impacts.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Credit analysis and underwriting: ability to evaluate creditworthiness, interpret financial statements, cash flow forecasting and prepare credit memoranda.
  • Loan origination & documentation management across consumer, mortgage and commercial products.
  • Strong knowledge of KYC/AML regulatory requirements and experience filing SARs/CTRs.
  • Deposit account processing, account opening, signature documentation and account reconciliation.
  • Financial modeling and profitability analysis for loan pricing and portfolio management.
  • Experience with core banking systems, CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Fiserv, FIS) and loan origination systems (LOS).
  • Proficiency in MS Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, basic financial modeling) and experience generating executive reporting.
  • Cash handling, vault operations, and daily balancing procedures with a focus on internal controls.
  • Familiarity with payments systems (wire transfers, ACH, SWIFT) and treasury/cash management services.
  • Regulatory reporting and compliance documentation skills with attention to audit requirements.
  • Credit committee preparation and presentation skills.
  • Basic legal and title documentation knowledge for secured lending and collateral perfection.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional customer service orientation with proven ability to build trusted relationships and retain clients.
  • Strong verbal and written communication: present credit cases, write clear documentation, and explain financial concepts to non-technical clients.
  • Analytical and problem-solving mindset with meticulous attention to detail.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to manage multiple loan pipelines and client needs concurrently.
  • Negotiation skills for structuring deal terms, workouts and customer agreements.
  • Ethical judgment and integrity in handling confidential customer and financial information.
  • Team collaboration and cross-functional stakeholder management.
  • Adaptability to regulatory change and process transitions.
  • Sales acumen and consultative selling approach focused on needs-based recommendations.
  • Leadership potential: coach and mentor junior colleagues and lead small project teams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics or related discipline; equivalent work experience will be considered.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree with concentration in Finance, Accounting or Banking; MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification preferred for senior roles.
  • Professional certifications such as Certified Credit Professional (CCP), ACAMS (Anti-Money Laundering), or CFA Level I/II are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Banking & Financial Services

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years for mid-level Banking Officer roles (retail/SME focus).
  • 5+ years for senior or commercial banking officer responsibilities.

Preferred:

  • Prior experience in retail branch banking, commercial lending, credit analysis or relationship management.
  • Demonstrated track record of achieving sales targets, managing loan portfolios, and maintaining compliance with KYC/AML and lending policies.
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