Banking is Satisfying

In 1992, Money magazine surveyed 100 jobs in the United States. The job of banker was listed as the second most satisfying. Bankers love their jobs!

Banking is in a Period of Consolidation

Banking is going through a period of tremendous consolidation with frequent mergers and layoffs. Mergers abound such as those of Citibank and Travelers into Citigroup or NationsBank and BankAmerica. Customers don't go to branches like they used to and increasingly rely on ATM's and electronic transactions. And many now direct their savings into mutual funds like Vanguard and Fidelity. At the same time business increasingly raise money using commercial paper and medium-term notes instead of bank loans. This means jobs are getting tighter. Fortune, 10/30/95 p. 45: "Few industries have experienced as intense a spasm of consolidation and corporate restructuring as has banking in the past decade. New mergers-and job cuts-are announced practically every week..."

Think Online

David Taylor of the Bank Administration Institute notes that "PCs and modems are reaching a 40% penetration level for households with annual incomes over $50,000, banks' best customers." Home banking offers tremendous convenience to these customers and will grow enormously in the next decade. "Before doing the Saturday morning shopping, you can check the status of your checking account, pay any outstanding bills, and, with the advent of smart cards, some day download credit onto your card to pay for the shopping."

Branch Out

Jobs in bank branches could be risky. According to a recent study by Deloitte & Touche about 30% of bank employees (850,000 people) work in branches. However, productivity improvements are expected to replace 151,200 of them, and electronic delivery of services is projected to eliminate an additional 344,400 jobs. When new jobs created by electronic delivery services are factored in, the study shows a net loss of 450,000 jobs by the year 2000.

Banks are Getting Aggressive

The competitive environment is changing too. USA Today writes on Aug 29, 1995: "Behind the bank deals: The easy times are over for bank earnings. Banks have posted record profits since 1991, thanks to falling interest rates and their efforts to slash costs. But interest rates aren't falling anymore, loan demand has slowed and bankers can't cost-cut their way to continued prosperity. They must grow and sell their services aggressively in new markets to keep earnings up and investors happy."

US Banks Aren't That Big

The largest banks in the world are outside of the United States. In 1995, the world's largest bank was newly merged Bank of Tokyo/Mitsubishi Bank with $703 billion in assets. That is two and half times as big as the largest US bank (Chase ranked #20 in the world after its megamerger with Chemical).

Banking is Shrinking

The business of banking is changing dramatically as traditional demand deposit and CD business shrinks. The U.S. banking system's share of financial assets in the economy has sunk to 25%, the lowest in the last 130 years. It is forecasted that half the nation's retail branches will close in 10 years and that as many as 450,000 bank jobs may disappear (Orlando Sentinel, 9/1/95). 

Specialized Banks are Doing Best

Banks which specialize in a niche such a retail lending, credit card operations, cash management or global retail appear to be doing better than more diversified banks. Expect focused banks to continue to succeed and create more jobs.

You May be Traveling

New regulations permit interstate banking. Historically, you might not have been asked to travel much as a banker or deal with businesses in other states. That is changing rapidly.

Middle-Managers Are In Demand

The shake-up in banking has left a shortage of good middle-managers, especially at smaller banks which find it more difficult to hire well-trained managers away from well-staffed larger banks. Other hot areas include loan review officers, technology specialists and auditors