General Description
Retail bankers assist individuals with their personal financial needs, including auto and home loans, deposit and savings accounts, and insurance and investments (usually as a referral). A retail banker has extensive customer contact each day. Most of this customer contact would occur in their branch, either in person or on the phone. After just a few years, the retail banker might become the branch manager, meaning that they would be responsible for personnel management and general operation of the branch, as well as serving customers.
There are retail banking jobs (but not necessarily openings) in all medium, as well as large towns and cities. Retail banking requires a number of support functions, such as retail loan portfolio analysis, that may be interest to you. A related job is a mortgage originator, who works with home loans and might cover several branches.
Getting the Job
Part time or summer bank related work, such as bank teller or collections, can be helpful. More banks hire recent grads for retail banking than for commercial banking.
Suggested Elective Courses
- Principles of Risk Management & Insurance – FIN3100
- Real Estate Principles and Practices – FIN3850
- Professional Selling – MKT3052
- Human Resource Management – MGT3620
Additional Courses of Interest (not as critical as above)
- Introduction to Organizational Behavior – MGT3630
- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution – MGT3660
- FinTech/InsureTech – FIN 4850