Breaking Into Commercial Banking: 5 Tips To Stand Out When Applying

[@dennisbanqs8392]

You are like God sent and just opened my eyes heavily towards my expectations

[@financekid3163]

Glad to hear, good luck!

[@elijahleoo]

Hi! I am based in Singapore and just wanted to leave a note of thanks. I've managed to get an offer for a summer intern next year doing commercial, corporate banking. I'm rewatching your videos now to better prepare myself! Thank you so much once again !

[@financekid3163]

Congrats on your new role! Good luck and thanks for watching.

[@galaticoera7022]

It's super hard to get into commercial/corporate banking. Those graduate schemes are amazing but they are insanely hard to get onto. I think for most of us our best bet is going to be to get a branch role as a customer service advisor and then just grind our way up to better positions over time.

[@financekid3163]

Yes the rotation programs are most desirable so applying to different regions/divisions increases your chances of getting in for sure.

[@hintoflim3946]

Did you ever post a video for the buy side m&a chapter in Rosenbaum and pearl

[@Neelroa]

Thanks for top notch content sir!

[@financekid3163]

Thanks for watching!

[@YoungBaller-g3c]

Do you know if there is a difference in earning potential between working in corporate banking vs working commercial banking? In uk banks the only difference between the work is the size of the business. In commercial you’re dealing with businesses that turnover up to £15 million a year whereas in Corporate you’re dealing with businesses that turnover anything above £15 million up to like £500 million. If anyone else has any info on this feel free to respond as well Thanks

[@financekid3163]

I would say in Canada the bonus pools are bigger in larger corporate banking deals for junior to mid-level roles. At the senior level role, the risk/reward is much higher in corporate banking, usually the MDs are 99% sales focused and if they bring in new business, its a huge win for the bank and they can get paid alot more in terms of bonuses vs smaller middle market groups, but on the flip side if you dont perform and bring in business, you dont last very long and the stress is pretty high.

[@DanielSanchez-er4et]

What type of finance internships would you recommend specifically for commercial banking? Right now I am a junior in college and I am trying to find an internship that aligns with a path to commercial banking if you have suggestions or ideas

[@financekid3163]

I would look at anything in the financial services sector dealing with customers. Summer bank teller, office intern for a credit union, etc. There are lots out there especially in the current labor market where people are busy and looking for help. Look beyond the big brands and find something with sales-related experience.

[@rileymilsom645]

Hi! I’m looking to get into a graduate commercial banking role but I see lots of different job titles. A lot of places use ‘commercial’, ‘corporate’ and ‘retail’ interchangeably. Which ones should I try to avoid and which ones should I look for?

[@Neelroa]

In my experience, as a graduate you will find value in any specific segment of the commerical lending space. From Branch Banking to Corporate, you should ideally be trying at the big banks and simultaneously to tier 2 lenders. Again, as a graduate, if you don't have prior banking experience, any segment is worth the experience

[@RacksonRacksonRibss]

From my experience retail, commercial, and corporate are basically different tiers. I haven’t found them to be interchangeable. Retail is generally branch/consumer banking, business or commercial is dealing with businesses (usually up to mid-market), corporate is dealing with larger businesses and syndicated deals.

[@financekid3163]

Its a good question, they are very different, if you refer to the video and the ladder segmenting out the deal sizes, corporate = big stuff, commercial = mid-sized companies and retail banking = retail consumers. There is also small business banking or branch banking where you work with small businesses. Ultimately the level of sophistication increases with the deal size (and the relative compensation increases with the deal size). I would aim to try and skip small business if possible as it can take a while to graduate from that level (1-3 years) but if you are having trouble even getting in, then going into the small business segment is not the worst strategy if you have patience.

[@galaticoera7022]

Have you seen mant people move from a branch role to commercial banking?

[@financekid3163]

Yes I have.

[@galaticoera7022]

Amazing video!!!

[@galaticoera7022]

Is there a difference between premier banking and private banking?

[@financekid3163]

Probably different areas of private banking - banks usually give different names to different tiers of private banking. Premium sounds like the UHNW area of the bank, just a guess though.

[@marcojosezgimenez]

Thank you!

[@financekid3163]

Thanks for watching!