Banking Industry Overview

There are nearly 2.6 million jobs in banking in the US. A medium-size bank typically employs only three-dozen people, but one of the largest banks might employ 250,000 globally, the American Bankers Association estimates.

Banks fill the country’s financial needs by holding deposits, extending loans and handling the exchange of payments between individuals, businesses and governments.

Banks also offer personal financial services, so they hire sales professionals to market investment advice, insurance, securities and even tax preparation to their customers.

Banking Job Market

As the banking industry emerges from the financial crisis, the outlook for banking employment is mixed.

Some banking career niches prospered during the housing crash. Companies that specialize in defaulted mortgages will continue to offer servicing jobs until the real estate market recovers. While interest rates remain at record lows, jobs for loan officers and loan processors will continue to open.

With regulators putting bank reforms in place, compliance employment should rise, especially for those with Basel credit standards or Dodd-Frank experience. Jobs for legal professionals with experience defending lawsuits filed against banks by consumers or regulators should continue to be plentiful as well.

In investment banking, employment for sales reps should rise 15 percent between 2010 and 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts.

Banking job opportunities could fall in other areas. Teller jobs may be cut as customers who used to come into branches to deposit checks and withdraw funds increasingly use online banking and ATMs.

Banking Salaries

Salaries for banking jobs start as low as $24,590, the median annual pay for tellers in 2011, according to the BLS. Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan, meanwhile, made $8.1 million in 2011. Salaries for loan officers ($58,030), financial services sales reps ($72,060) and financial examiners ($75,250) fall in between.