Banks are the backbone of the economy. They contribute to the generation of capital, encourage investment into the economy, facilitate trading for people of all classes and provide people with a way to safely engage in monetary transactions and even earn from their savings. Banks help raise capital investment for both budding and expanding businesses alike.
Running a complex organization with so many different roles and hundreds of factors go into the mechanics of the decisions that are taken in a bank every day. India has both the private and public sector banks and thousands of employees between them.
The recent campaign by the Indian government on making India a cashless economy in the future and promotion of online banking and digital transactions has increased the workload on banks and in general, the banking sector has seen an upsurge of demand for skilled professionals to handle the growth it is experiencing right now. This is an opportunity for people to start a banking management career.
But wait, what is banking management?
Thousands of employees translate to various departments and hundreds of teams on their own daily, weekly, monthly and yearly quotas and deadlines. The world of banks is heavily scrutinized and any mistakes made could cost a fortune, literally. So to ensure the smooth function of these banks an effective management chain is required and this need generates the jobs for banking management.
While a background in finance and economics is very helpful and in-depth knowledge of finance and the economy is an unwritten criterion for any kind of job in the banking sector- a bachelor’s degree in any field is acceptable given that you complete your master’s in finance management with extra effort on the basics. The MBA from finance is a major stream and offered by many prestigious institutions around the country.
A CAT score is accepted and a personal interview follows which decides your fate. If you manage to enroll the degree’s tuition is a lump-sum of twenty-five lakhs. IIMs and ISB are at the top of the hierarchy but they aren’t the only institutions offering this course.
If you aren’t a student and already a professional working in the financial domain or in a bank for that matter, you can still opt for an Executive MBA to upgrade your profile to a management position. If you are interested, the common entrance test accepted by the very same institutions is GMAT. While the fees remain somewhat the same, the duration of the course is one year as opposed to two years in a regular Master’s degree.
Good communication skills, team management skills, great interpersonal skills and an ability to maintain your balance in a high-stress work environment is crucial for this job and these skills will prove valuable to those looking to start a career in banking management. An inclination for customer service and being comfortable around numbers certainly helps your case as a manager as well.
To land a job in any of the private sector banks, whether it is in core finance or IT or marketing, etc. you can apply directly, solicited and unsolicited application have pretty much the same effect. For a position in a government bank you’ll have to look for government classifieds articles and more than likely there will be an entrance test involved. Organizations like RBI, IBF, Government banks like SBI, PNB and Bank of India, etc. are on the lookout for potential managers at the moment.
The most common profiles at managerial level are Investment Manager, Finance Regulator, Risk Manager, Compliance Officer and Administrative Manager. The average salary at entry-level is 3.5 to 6 LPA, but if a good B-School is backing the degree it can be higher. Progression is smooth. With the public sector involved there is also the added factor of job security.
India has managed to run its economy far and ahead of any competition in the continental and international scale for decades and with the booming population and recent mass digitization of transactions- the need for banking management is immense and quite likely will be in demand for the foreseeable future. With that said, it is safe to assume that a steady career can be made out of it. The future prospects of a career in banking management are good.
