NT Finance/Investment Gurus Come in. Vol Commercial Banking

[antidope]

What can you guys tell me about the commercial banking aspect of IBs like JP Morgan, STRH,Merrill Lynch, etc etc, more specifically what would a commercial banking analyst be doing with their time and what should they have to know?

I've done a bit of research, but its always helpful to get some personal insight rather than having google and wall street oasis guide me the entire time.

PLS RESPOND 

 

[antidope]

 

[thug]

Know excel
Everything else is more learn on the job

 

[antidope]

Know excel
Everything else is more learn on the job

What kind of questions do you think they will ask me, technical or behavioral?

 

[bruce negro]

I may be wrong, but I believe commercial banking falls more into small business/personal lending. I just read JPM's summary of the field and it sounds like they're describing corporate banking though, so I'm not too sure. I definitely agree with the above in that you should become well-versed in Excel. If you want to "wow" people and become more efficient, learn to use Excel without the mouse at all. Other than that, many jobs in finance require you to learn on the job, rather than coming in having set expectations on how you'll actually be doing your work.

Edit: Just saw the above post.

As far as technicals vs. behaviorals, I'd definitely lean more on the behavioral side; you need to craft your story. Know why you want to do commercial banking, what a commercial banker does, why you want to do commercial banking with that specific firm, what you've done in the past that led you to this decision, which past experiences you believe will make you a great commercial banker, etc. This only requires that you have a high-level understanding of what commercial banking is, which shouldn't be too hard to find. To start, check this out: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/finance-dictionary/what-is-a-commercial-bank

 

[antidope]

I may be wrong, but I believe commercial banking falls more into small business/personal lending. I just read JPM's summary of the field and it sounds like they're describing corporate banking though, so I'm not too sure. I definitely agree with the above in that you should become well-versed in Excel. If you want to "wow" people and become more efficient, learn to use Excel without the mouse at all. Other than that, many jobs in finance require you to learn on the job, rather than coming in having set expectations on how you'll actually be doing your work.

Edit: Just saw the above post.

As far as technicals vs. behaviorals, I'd definitely lean more on the behavioral side; you need to craft your story. Know why you want to do commercial banking, what a commercial banker does, why you want to do commercial banking with that specific firm, what you've done in the past that led you to this decision, which past experiences you believe will make you a great commercial banker, etc. This only requires that you have a high-level understanding of what commercial banking is, which shouldn't be too hard to find. To start, check this out: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/finance-dictionary/what-is-a-commercial-bank

This is very helpful bro, I appreciate it. I did check the websites for the firm I'm interviewing with and a few others and theyre all saying different things which is what caused me to make the thread. I really didnt want to go in there and make myself look like an idiot.

 

[bhzmafia14]

Yea, commercial banking seems more on the small business/lending side, which is what I currently do.

I'm in a commercial lending program at a small business bank and they did not ask me many technical questions in my interview. I would say you definitely need to have a general idea of basic accounting concepts, debt service and cash flow models. That's if its more focused towards the lending field. Knowing Excel definitely helps and you want to be able to analyze a company's financial statement. You want to indicate that you think differently and not looking at everything at face value. Even if you're wrong, showing them that you are taking your time to analyze financial situations within a business show that you're a deep thinker.

Its definitely a lot harder than what it looks from the outside, especially at a small business banking. A lot of times, larger banks have a tendency to lend money to business owners who have no business getting the loan because a computer told them it was ok. Small banks really cannot afford that type of risk, so the process of accepting and declining loans is a lot more in depth. Another benefit I have is that I interact with my Senior VP almost every day and sit in with a lot of meetings with the president of our bank.

I would also expect to attend many meetings, if you're in small business lending.

A typical week in terms of meetings for me:

Monday - Sales meeting at 9am (discuss potential prospects, loan closings, ORE, etc.). The meeting tends to last about an hour.
Tuesday - Loan Committee (there are a few board members in attendance along with the President, Senior VP, Credit Admin and Commerical Loan Officers). If a lender brought in a loan that was approved at the previous underwriting Committee on Friday, depending on the aggregate of the credit facility, it would go to Loan Committee. Sometimes, it has to go to board committee, which the loan officer does not attend.

Wednesday - deadlines for loans
Thursday - not as hectic
Friday - Underwriting Committee (meeting can last anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours) This meeting can get heated and this is where you're first presenting the loan to the President, Senior VP, Credit Admin and other loan officers.

All in all, I'm learning A LOT. I'm very fortunate to be in this program because its giving me the opportunity to learn from people in high places that have been in the banking business for 25+ years.

That's what I can give you on the commercial banking/lending side of things. Hopefully, it helped some