Which career is right for you?

Many successful bankers and stockbrokers may share similar personality traits that are required by both positions, such as attention to detail, a facility with math and numbers, and an outgoing, friendly and helpful nature when dealing with with the public.

In addition, both bankers and stockbrokers need to be team players due to the need to interact with company peers. Despite the similarities, these two financial services jobs are very different in significant ways when it comes to the actual work.

What does a banker do?

Banking is a complex business that employs staff in a variety of positions. These include cashiers, who deal with the public face to face, administrative, accounting and secretarial staff, security department staff and maintenance staff.

Although these employees work in the banking industry, they cannot accurately be called bankers. For our purposes, we will broadly define the term banker to mean personal bankers, loan officersbranch managers and senior staff higher up the corporate ladder.

A personal banker acts as a universal link between the customer and the bank, providing, in most cases, any service that the customer needs. This may include help with loans or mortgage loan applicationspurchase and redemption certificates of deposit (CD)depositing and withdrawing funds, verifying account transactions and assisting with other customer needs.

Questions and problems that arise in the course of customer relations with a bank can also be answered and resolved by a personal banker. So the position is critical to the success of a commercial bank because of its close and continuous contact with depositors and customers.

It also offers many banks BROKERAGE services for the purchase and sale of stocks, US Treasury bills and other investment vehicles and charges the client a commission for implementing these transactions, which are usually facilitated by a personal banker.

Education Required for a Banking Career

Like most jobs in the banking industry, a personal banker should have an education—preferably at least a bachelor’s degree—in business, finance, accounting, economics, business administration, or mathematics.

Since a personal banker deals with the public, an open and helpful temperament is desirable. Patience is also a requirement as customers can be demanding and impatient. Experienced personal bankers with the proper education are often promoted to positions with more responsibility and higher compensation.

Branch managers and loan officers—often the two jobs are combined—need a more comprehensive background in finance, business and/or accounting. Managerial and analytical skills are used in this position if the branch manager is also a loan officer.

Compensation for bankers

Managerially, the branch manager oversees all bank branch operations, from building maintenance to the accounting and credit departments. In exceptionally large bank branches, the loan officer or officers may be separate from the branch manager.

Loan officer reviews creditworthiness of a potential borrower by checking the customer’s net worth, credit rating, employment and compensation history, collateral and other factors affecting credit.

At the corporate headquarters of a major international or national bank, at senior management levels, including vice presidents in categories such as customer relations, accounting, business development, credit card division, marketing-advertising, chief financial officer, chief operating officer or chief executive officer can earn six- to seven-figure salaries, plus performance bonuses and stock options.

These jobs can be very lucrative, especially if the bank posts profits and gains over previous quarterly or annual earnings. Post-graduate degrees, years of experience and outstanding successes in leadership roles are the usual requirements for these well-paying positions.

What does a stockbroker do?

A stock broker acts as an interface between investors, stock tradersand brokerage firms, which transmit orders to buy and/or sell specific stocks. The stockbroker typically interacts with clients over the phone, so the temperament of a friendly, outgoing salesperson is also a requirement for this position, which involves so much public contact.

A stockbroker’s main day-to-day duties include servicing and managing their clients’ stock portfolios, trading on behalf of a client without consultation if the client has a discretionary account, soliciting new business and consulting with their brokerage firm’s research department to determine the best trades – the buying and/or selling of certain stocks – for their clients. In many cases, the broker can also act as a financial advisor.

Education and Compensation Requirements for Exchange Agents

A college degree in a business or financial field is desirable but not required to become a stockbroker. There are also licensing requirements to become a stockbroker, which include an examination to become a licensed General Securities Registered representative. This entitles the licensee to act as a broker on behalf of clients, known as Series 7.

Because a stockbroker’s compensation is based largely on commissions, earnings can theoretically be unlimited. Brokers dealing with large accounts, incl institutional portfolios or pension fund accounts, they can earn six and seven figure incomes.

conclusion

The main difference between a banker and a broker is that the banker is an administrator and the broker is a salesperson. Although personal bankers interact with the public, they are usually not salespeople. However, bank staff whose job it is to generate new business or deposits can be categorized as salespeople because they market banking services.

Among the similarities between bankers and stockbrokers is the requirement for both to be team players due to the need to interact with support and supervisory staff in the highly structured corporate environment of banks and brokerage firms.

Brokers are accountable to their clients. Both of these occupations offer potentially substantial compensation for employees who graduate beyond entry-level and mid-level positions and demonstrate commitment, skill, integrity, and productivity.