Roles of Bank RM Part II

If you are a 'farmer', you would receive requests from existing bank customers, under your care, to do things like waiving a certain admin fee on some transactions, increasing certain limits on their loans, checking on an overseas transaction that got 'stuck' somewhere along the way and payment has not been made, changing their installment plans for certain credit facilities, adding certain 'add ons' to their deposit/insurance policies, applying for certain banking facilities which they do not currently have, eg internet banking, asking for calendars, diaries, red-packets during year-end or festive seasons etc, and the list goes on. To the 'farmer' RM, these are some of the issues which they have to deal with or tackle on behalf of their customers.

Roles of Bank RM

As a Bank RM, you can get to be a 'farmer' and/or 'hunter'.
The former is when the Bank RM focuses on servicing his/her existing clients, looking after their specific needs will be the main job scope.
The latter is when the Bank RM focuses on generating new clients for the bank. More often than not, most RMs have to do both, which is indeed a tall order.
I shall elaborate more with examples of what the Bank RM will face in the 'farming' area and the 'hunting' area in my next post

Break From Banking : Australian Open Tennis 2009

Hi There, I have been listening in to live radio coverage of the Australian Open Tennis 2009. Andy Roddick won his quarter-finals match, and there will be more from 1900hrs (AEST) which is 1600hrs (Spore time).

More US Bank Bailout Plans

Check this out. More money will be set aside for banks in the US, which is good news for the whole banking industry worldwide. It is like a repair mechanism for the 'injured' banks, to make the banks strong again and functioning normally again.

Home Prices In Singapore

Home Prices in Singapore are falling. Most people in Singapore have to work hard to own a home of their own, some work hard all their lives to pay off the mortgage. Well, this year might be a good time to start buying that new apartment, up-grade to a larger one, or invest in a second property?

SME Loans Supported By The Government

The government has backed SMEs in terms of loan and credit applications with banks. Read all about it.
In this present economic climate, some SMEs, with 'weaker' financial statements/documents, find it harder to get financial support from banks as most banks have increased their risk assessment critera.

PFC Interview

To further prepare oneself for the interview, one needs to speak more with people from the banking industry especially those in bank sales environment. Hear about the culture of bank sales, what the expectations are, what the sales targets are, what the working hours are, what the stresses are, what the incentives are etc, get a clearer picture of what it is like in a bank sales working environment.
Go to any bank branch when you are free and observe the PFCs in action. Watch how they behave towards their customers, pay attention to their tone of voice when they speak with customers, take note of their body language (but dont do it too directly = )because it might make the security personnel suspicious). Perhaps take a queue no and ask them about certain bank products that you are interested in.
Of course, not all trained PFCs working in branches are really professional, in fact, some are far from it, even losing out to newly-trained PFCs.
Bank sales is really about a person's nature. If one is a service-oriented, customer-oriented and hardworking person with a passion for the banking industry and in particular, sales, then half the battle's won.

RM Vacancy

This is the RM position I was referring to. This is a Commercial Banking position, so most probably you be exposed to Trade Services Products such as LCs, TRs etc.

RM Vacancy At RBS or ABN AMRO

Hi Everyone, check out this position in the RBS Singapore website. They are hiring RMs with SME experience to work in their Commercial Banking department. Great, challenging role I guess. =)

Question on What It Takes to Prepare for a PFC Interview

Hi There, I was asked this question by one of my readers. Thanks for the question!
For a recent graduate, you can prepare yourself for the interview by:
1. Reading up on banking-related issues on the net and newspapers (Straits Times Money Section or Business Times). It will come in handy during interviews.
2. Pay attention to your personal grooming, you dont have to look gorgeous, but it helps to stay looking pleasant and professional. Eating right (less oily stuff, more veges and fruits) and exercising are important.
3. Practise how to answer certain standard interview questions, which I will elaborate more in my next posting.
4. Be confident. This can be learned if you dont possess it.
5. Be Relax and Smile, but convey to the interviewers that when it comes to work, you will be super serious and focused.

Actually if you refer to my earlier post, I think it's my first post. There are some character traits which are needed in a banking sales environment. You will need to be sensitive to others' feelings, humble, always ready to serve, self-disciplined and self-motivated.
If one is not serious enough about work and likes to have fun all the time, then the PFC job is not suitable. I am not saying that one cannot have fun, but when one is working, one should have full concentration. Play can come after office hours or on weekends, but if you really want to succeed, you may have to work outside office hours too.
I will talk more in my next post. Have a good nite. =)

Private Banker

Once you excel as a RM serving customers with large deposits with the bank, and you can do it over a sustained period of another 2-3years by hunting and farming; hunting = bringing in NTB (New To Bank) customers and farming = servicing existing bank customers with their needs and requests; here comes the opportunity to go one level up and a big step up, by becoming a Private Banker.
Normally you would start off as a Junior Private Banker. This is a challenging phase as you will be able to learn on the job and see the experienced Private Bankers in action. They serve very high-net worth customers who have millions of dollars at their disposal. Private Bankers plan and strategise for these customers to help them make even more money through different forms of investments. As for the sorts of investments that the Private Bankers recommend to them depend on the customers' risk appetites, these investments range from a simple deposit (fixed or structured), to bonds, to equities.
Private Bankers usually get to travel overseas to meet clients, and during good times, get to travel Business Class. They be armed with all the necessary techonology gadgets, laptops, pdas, advanced technology mobile phones etc. A skillful Private Banker can make much more money than a surgeon or pilot. This is because their customers may be investing millions and the Private Banker may take a cut of a certain no of percent from the investments made. Imagine $5,000,000 worth of investments, and say a windfall of 10% on the conservative side, would be $500,000 for the customer. As for the Private Banker, well, he/she will get a share of this lucrative pie.
The downsides of being a Private Banker are:
1. Long, unpredictable (can be anytime, 24/7, may be expected to meet clients late at night, on weekends, at social locations or overseas etc) working hours
2. High stress levels, fast-paced, demanding and must be error-free.
3. Exposed to complaints from customers should the investments go bad
4. Need to be well groomed (can be time-consuming trying to maintain good personal grooming)
5. Laid off (retrenched) during bad times.

Ethical Code of Conduct

I would like to emphasise that as a bank sales person, one should always be ethical towards customers. Do not mis-sell and over-promise customers anything that is not within reach. I would always tell myself, 'Do unto others what you want others to do unto you'. So if you expect people to treat you with respect, please also treat people with respect and spare a thought for them.
It doesnt mean that you have to 'play dirty' just because you have a high sales target or you want to make more money.
Trust me, you can still make money by being down to earth and honest. Honesty is the best policy. Reveal to customers what they need to know and you be surprised how they start to trust you. Once trust is established, you can start to fly! =)

A Quick Question on the Salary of Bank Sales Staff

Hi There, before I continue to talk about Private Bankers, I would like to answer a question that was posed to me, 'how much do bank sales staff earn?' Well, again it depends on which bank and what qualifications and experience one has? Let's assume we are referring to entry-level sales positions.

Basic Pay only:
For a Diploma grad,
PFC - $1,600 to $2,500,
Mortgage (home-loan specialist) - $1,500 to $2,600,
SME Sales Specialist - $1,500 to $2,400

For a University grad,
PFC - $2,200 to $3,000,
Mortgage (home-loan specialist) - $2,000 to $3,000,
SME Sales Specialist - $2,000 to $3,500

The above is just an approximate and it really depends on the bank and the time of application (demand and supply).
As for your sales targets, it again depends on the bank concerned. It would usually be within reach if you are smart enough and hardworking enough. Having passion in what you do is definitely the first step to success!
Once you hit your sales target, you can safely add another $2,000 (approx) to the above basic salary. This is the conservative side of the scale. If you are good, and hit much more than 100% of your sales target, you could be looking at a good $4,000 to $5,000 or more in commission.
I know of an ex-colleague who during his first year at the bank, achieved $9,000 (basic + comm) in his best month.

RM (Part 2)

A new RM, let's assume we are talking about the ones in Personal Financial Services, meaning that you are selling bank products to individuals and not companies, will go through more training to arm himself/herself with the necessary higher level skills required when dealing with higher net worth bank customers.
You could be dealing with customers who have deposits of say $100,000 or more (depending on the bank again) with the bank and have to service them with their needs. Eg, they need to do certain transfers of their money to other countries or they may be requesting for certain services like putting their money into Fixed Deposits (FDs) with higher yields. Of course these requests will be to your advantage as you can accumulate precious revenue points towards achieving your sales target. Note that not all customer requests will be this advantageous, some requests could be time-consuming and do not earn you any revenue points. =(
You will be exposed to bigger investments on behalf of your customers, but before you even have a chance to do that, you will have to convince these customers to take risks by investing their money with the bank's various investments schemes, rather than leaving their money 'idle' in their savings a/cs or FD a/cs. Not all are willing to do that,but if you are smart and hardworking enough, you will be able to find customers with big ambitions.
On the one hand, your job will be 'easier' because you do not have to serve too many walk-in customers and you will also have a larger customer base from your previous 2 years of PFC work. You will also be able to call existing customers with large deposits with the bank and recommend suitable investments for them depending on their investment appetite.
However, on the other hand, it will not be that easy as these customers will demand more from you and they are more likely to be more well-educated than customers you used to serve during your PFC days. They might expect more from you and give you added pressure. So it's another step up, where you will feel more confident in terms of knowledge of the various bank products, but will have to cope with a different level of issues from more articulate, more educated and more demanding customers with much more money. This is a great testing ground for those who aspire to be Private-Bankers. And we all know that the better Private Bankers make tonnes of money in good times.

Relationship Manager (RM)

Once you get promoted and become a RM, you will have a sense of achievement because you know that you have proven yourself over a long period of time that you are good at your work. You must have been well-versed with your basket of bank products that you have been selling to customers at the branch and you must have demonstrated a fair bit of EQ in terms of dealing with both customers as well as your colleagues and bosses to be able to make it up the ladder.
As a RM, you will get to sit in an even more comfortable corner of the bank branch or even up on the 2nd floor of the branch or maybe 3rd depending on which bank again. You will have a bigger desk with more area for your files and trays and more fanciful PC (eg more storage capacity, faster speed, larger screen, maybe a laptop to accompany the PC and more rights to system access within the bank) and have perhaps a couple of client chairs in front of you and perhaps even a huge comfortable Sofa area for your customers if you are a RM in charge of customers with large deposits or investments with the bank.
I will continue with more in my next posting as it is getting late and I am exhausted from a long day at work. Thanks for understanding. =)

Aspiring Bankers or Private Bankers

I was asked a question by a Banking and Finance University student recently, 'what does it take to be a private banker'. Well, my answer to this student is first of all, study hard and get good grades. After graduation, find a job at a bank as a Personal Financial Consultant (PFC).

As a fresh grad, you will get to undergo training and then work in a bank branch and learn all the ins and outs of frontline banking services (through on the job training). You will be seated at a comfortable corner (depending on which banks, it may be a comfortable or not so comfortable corner) of the bank branch with a desk, and lots of trays at your side (for the many forms that you need when you sign up customers for bank products).

As a PFC, you will need to get along with your seniors, the Relationship Managers (RMs), and your big boss, the Branch Manager. Try as much as possible to learn from them. Also, try to get to know the tellers (the staff at the bank branch counters) because they are the ones who can refer walk-in customers with rather huge balances in their savings a/cs to you for you to persuade them to invest their idle money. You would also need the tellers' help in other areas like opening certain a/cs for your customers, so be nice to them.

Once you start to learn the ropes of all the products under your care, eg insurance, strutured deposits, foreign currencies, unit trusts, among others, you can start to work hard and smart to look for ways to achieve your sales target. You would most certainly be expected to stay back way after the bank branch is closed for the day to do your calling to customers and follow up work. During the bank branch opening hours, you would usually not have much time looking for customers as you would be busy serving certain walk-in customers with their many enquiries. Of course, you might get lucky when a walk-in customer decides to sign up for one of the products under your care. That is why you would often find many PFCs looking sleepy because they really do work hard and long hours and most of them are sleep-deprived.

If you do well consistently over a period of about 2years, it means that you have proven yourself to be a great potential for a sales position higher up the banking ladder, maybe as a RM selling and marketing to a more affluent market, eg customers with larger deposits which qualify them to be in a certain category (different banks use different names for this group of more affluent customers). Once you get the promotion, either in the same bank or with another bank, you can then be a RM.

I will write more about the role of a RM in my next post. In the meantime, have a great day!

Corporate Bank Products and Customers

As a Bank Sales Manager, we get to learn about and sell many interesting products such as trade and working capital, mortgages, business term loans, business overdraft, micro-loans (in conjunction with the govt), bridging loans (in conjunction with the govt), current accounts, credit cards etc.



Once one gets the hang of it and goes through (by actually doing it) the sales process of any of the above, the next step to master would be in the area of 'looking' for customers. Bank customers can come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. As my area of specialisation is in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) market, we get to meet Directors of companies which have an employment strength of less than 3 staff to more than sometimes 20 or 30. So, in a nutshell, we get to meet Directors who own larger companies and some Directors who own smaller companies. There are other yardsticks to measure the size of a company, eg assets owned.



There are a few ways to meet customers and the below are just some of them:

1. At the bank branch

2. By calling up customers (warm or cold calls)

3. Through referrals

4. Advertisements

5. Innovative ways like searching websites (this requires some time, but the rewards can be superb).

Have a great day. =)