Best Bank to work for?
 

This question is actually for my brother.

He's getting interviewed by few banks for personal banker/FSR type positions and already got offered by one of them.

He wants to know which bank is the best to work for?

He hasn't applied to credit unions but I heard those are usually the best.

at the moment, wherever he can find a job... all banks r the same. (or all big companies for that matter).

I agree, banks are all roughly the same.

Bigger ones like RBC/TD/CIBC tend to pay a bit lower at the entry level and equalizes out past $50k+ for FSR level jobs. FA's @ CIBC tend to do better with bonus schemes.

Credit Union works better for lower levels and start to suck when you're getting into management. Tellers I hear @ unions get $15 whereas most major FI's will be around $11-12.

End of the day, you're in sales =)

i am sorry, but i have to disagree with the above posts. I work for TD and let me tell you, that all banks are NOT the same. I have many friends in the financial industry that work for different institutions (RBC, CIBC, VANCITY, NSCU) and we all agree that our companies are run very differently. In my personal opinion, TD is the top. They treat their employees very well, tons of room to move up if you want, great benefits/pension, etc.

Sales is just sales when you sell shoes. When you are an FSR/FA, you have a responsibility to provide ADVICE and help your clients realize their financials dreams and goals come true. Trust me, ALL institutions are different from their pay grades, to their holistic approach to their employees.

pay isnt everything, putting together everythign (pension, how people are treated, working environment, room for movement) all should factor in to your bro's decision. GLUCK!!

whats the starting wage at td as a teller?

14

No problem, we're all here to learn and exchange info = )

Everyone has tons of friends in the industry, and it shows that different folks would have different industries.

For first job I agree go for the training, the culture, and the whole nine yards if you can find it. For me it's always been personal and individual drive - after all hitting your sales quotas and making bigger bonuses always made more sense for me.

Seeing 20+ year veterans making $40k~ makes me depressed so I quickly got out of the first gig and jumped around.

I've seen some offer letters from different banks and if you're not too qualified they can be stingy with raises and offers just the same. Look at these reviews below:

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/731/td1.th.jpg

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4343/td2mt.th.jpg

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/7584/td3p.th.jpg

If you're looking for money:
CIBC FA's $55k starting, CFP +$5K
RBC Senior Account Manager $45k - $60k
TD's FSR/FA hybrids generally start as low as $40k to $60k but I believe there's quarterly bonuses.

Then hop over to Private Banking and/or HSBC Premier for $75K + bonus. Anything lower you're overworked and underappreciated (sound familiar?) - fancy title like Account Executive may only get you $34k-40k starting.

All banks have goods and bads, especially the bigger they get. I find the smaller branches the best if you're starting out as you learn the whole system. Established branches may be nice and bling but you'll find many don't even end up making money overall - you may also find alot of deadweight employees that'll drag the morale down!

TD is a great choice to start, btw =)

the ones with the hottest girls so you can fuck them.

why would you ever work at the bank long term unless you're planning to get qualified enough to run the place or whatever? lol who cares about a few bucks here and there, just get the experience, the women, and get out.

Exactly my point. Why would you stick with one bank/firm longterm - if you have the talent you can go anywhere and demand a higher amount

Downtown banks tend to have the hotties, btw ;) Gotta impress the white collar execs!

The starting wage for a FSR position at TD isn't high. It's around 35k/year factoring bonuses in already. Some times you make a bit more in bonuses and that would push it to say 36k. We get paid on bonuses every 2 quarters and they aren't great at the FSR level. The salary jump from FSR to FA at TD isn't that significant I heard from my branch but the bonuses are drastically different. FA's tend to make more in bonuses because they close more mortgage deals which are bank's money makers. With bonuses, I heard an FA can earn up to 60k/year. Realistically, I say around 50k sounds about right at TD. The salary may seem low but TD does have great pension plans and medical plans. Very flexible, you can pretty much allocate that money to whatever you want as long as it falls within the med/dental/optometry category. Stock options aren't bad either, they give out pretty much close to $2200 to a teller (that's what I got as a p/t teller but pretty much working f/t hours) per year. Work environment really depends. NOt every branch you work at or department is great. It all depends on the people you are working with so having said that, I think it's pretty much the same in all banks. Opportunity wise, it's getting tougher and tougher to move up in TD. Just to give you an exmaple, I heard that a Branch Manager could receive up to 40-50 resumes for an FSR position! An FSR trainee position had over 50 applicants and only 2 were chosen at the end! If you like consumer banking then the FSR experience is crucial for any future advancement in any bank. You simply need that credit experience. If you are not pursuing a career in consumer banking, I think it's pretty pointless then. For the record, the starting wage for a teller at TD is not $14/hour. It depends on your experience in customer/cash handling experience. They have a scale between 12 something to as high as 17 something. The starting wage usually hovers around 13.

Thanks for the honest inside opinion Skyliner. Proves my point.

FA's at TD are not equivalently paid to FA's at CIBC/RBC. But if you are with a good group of management and team what's an extra $10k-20k a year...? That's a question for you to decide if you want work/life balance and a small amount of defined contribution difference on your pension.

Retail banking won't get you rich - its a nice secure longterm gig.

Capital markets and investment banking are where the money is. Hence the much higher requirements to get in.

what do you need to start off as teller?
what school? what programs?

You are all forgeting that these jobs vary from bank to bank. Goals/targets and expectations are not the same even if the position sounds the same. Honestly its difficult to become a FSR/FA off the street (usually only through a trainee program).

I have worked at the bank P/T for almost 5 years. i have to admit that i have learned a lot, met a lot of people, and enjoyed my time being there. BUT it's not a job that i want to do for a career.

retail banking boils down to how many sales you can get, and there are many FSR/account manager/fund manager that will lie to clients just to meet/exceed their sales quota.

however, if you can get into the back office, like IT, analyst, marketing, corporate security, etc. those jobs are a lot more enjoyable.

you always want to be in the position of SPENDING money in the bank, not FINDING revenue, which is what retail banking is all about.

At minimum you need be a high school grad. Post secondary always helps coupled with connections. I know this chick got hired p/t when she was 17 but she's a rare case though. We usually hire a lot of post secondary students and most of them are either in commerce/econ/business/accounting from a university (sfu/ubc).

^did she have big tits? Cause if that'll help I'll totally get a pair!
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any where hiring right now? i want to change my job

Almost all the banks are hiring. I know TD is hiring a few CSRs (tellers) right now. Just go on their website or better yet, just type a resume with a cover letter and hand it in person. We hired a few walk-ins before because it shows that you actually want the job.

^ Yeap they're hiring right now. I got two phone calls from two branches already but the first branch I turned the interview down and the second one I still don't know if I want to go.

The thing is that at my current job right now it's sales (telecommunications company) and the commission is quite good. I did the calculations and I make more at my current job than at 13/hr at TD. I'm also 100% sure it's more flexible and chill than working at a bank.

But I'm also at SFU for bus/econ and don't know if working as a bank teller during post-secondary years will benefit me more in the long run. Or do you guys think it wouldn't matter much? What do you guys think?

Should I go to that TD interview?

are you looking to go into the financial field? CA, CGA, etc? having csr experience at the bank can't be a bad thing, but it's not a necessary asset you must have.

I'm not an accountant, but i have many friends who are in the field and none of them have worked as a csr in the bank.

I'm still not quite sure what my field of concentration would be yet. I'm concerned that if I do choose the financial field, would turning down a bank teller job in favour for a sales job be smart? But the more I think about it bank tellers only get csr experience whereas where I work it's sales+csr experience.

Thanks, it's good to know that bank teller experience is not a necessary asset :)

Although a CSR's main focus is with customer service, sales is also a very important component as well. You actually carry a sales quota every quarter and if you ever want to advance within the bank, you better exceed them (not just meet them). Ultimately, it boils down to what you really want to do career wise. Although it sounds like you're making more than what a CSR would make at the bank, is there the possibility that you may have hit the ceiling or nearing that salary wise? Also, you would be amazed at how much stuff you actually learn from working at the bank. It's very useful and insightful. You ever wonder why people know so little and have so many questions about financing (mortgage) on this board? Do you think you need some form of borrowing from the bank down the road? These are the things that you would learn hands on and it is just the tip of the iceberg. As for opportunities, there are plenty and it doesn't necessarily pertain to banking only. Remember, if you work as a CSR, you WILL meet alot of people from all walks of life. For me, I love talking to people who are business savvy. People who actually made it and are willing to share their experiences with you. Can you get that from your current work environment? All I'm saying is that the opportunities are countless and don't be so narrow-minded. Keep an open mind and you will see the doors open for you.

banks always need tellers during the summer, as people leave in March after bonuses because they either
1. get laid off/fired
2. not happy with their raise/bonus
3. management restructuring
4. "going back to school" <-- this is the MOST common excuse i hear from working for almost 5 years at a bank

if you are in university, ANY banking experience would be a good stepping stone. you meet a lot of people (dumb and smart). In that, you will start to see what you want to do, and where you DON'T want to end up.

I have a phone interview for CSR with RBC, anyone have any tips??

I started as a CSR with RBC when I first finished school, for the interview be prepared to answer how you would react in scenarios. All service related, if someone was mad at the bank, if someone was confused with what happened regarding their account, etc. and definitely have a past experience where you took a negative and turned it into a positive experience for a client