Senior Investment and Commercial Banking Professional

On a senior investment and commercial banking professional apprenticeship course, you’ll become a highly competent senior professional in financial services.

The senior investment and commercial banking professional apprenticeship will prepare you to become a senior professional in these financial services by focusing on commercial/business banking, investment management, investment consulting, investment banking, and investment operations.

You’ll develop into a professional that can operate at a strategic level with significant responsibilities. However, with this level of seniority comes the need to show a high degree of knowledge and technical skills, so you’ll choose from several options that will teach you to become an expert in one of the apprenticeship’s business sector specialities.

Select commercial/business banking, for example. You will be in charge of relationship management with corporate clients/customers, which involves assessing their financial performance and proactively matching banking products and services to their needs. You’ll also decide on your area’s strategy at this point.

What you’ll learn

On a senior investment or commercial banking professional course, you’ll learn to:

• As required, lead the development of strategic and operational plans for their area and the effective planning of service delivery for their team(s). 
• Manage and report on the effectiveness of specific project components within your area of responsibility. Analyse and articulate future financial and other significant market changes, as well as an individual’s, organisation’s, client’s, and customer’s future financial service needs and requirements. 
• Identify possibilities for the person, organisation, and client to provide value. Proactively prepare and organise your work and identify priorities to meet commitments, key performance indicators (KPIs), and regulatory deadlines. 
• Contribute to developing and executing key performance indicators (KPIs) for the company and team performance measures in line with corporate policy, values, standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Establish and sustain ethically sound and trustworthy relationships with clients and customers. Work strategically with clients and customers to identify their continuing business and associated financial service requirements. Provide adaptable and innovative solutions, such as products and excellent service, to help people fulfil their needs and best interests now and in the future. Makes introductions to colleagues and other departments when appropriate to provide these solutions and give value.
• Take responsibility for strategic business changes from inception to completion. Capable of articulating the vision for change and then bringing it to fruition – this may include efforts outside their job and creating that vision if appropriate. Recognises and implements opportunities to improve performance and service delivery.
• Quickly analyse complex material and make sound decisions. Assess a problem from various angles to ensure that all critical issues are handled and that the focus is on business strategy. Using a methodical approach gather pertinent information and evidence in order to make sound decisions. Prepare for and react to unforeseen occurrences. Proactively monitor and act to avoid corporate and operational risk, considering relevant economic and market conditions and sector-specific legal and regulatory requirements.
• Communicate and negotiate, via a range of media, using appropriate language, interacting with clients and customers up to CEO level, and, if applicable, up to CEO, board-level in own organisation. 
• Bring together the necessary people and functions within and outside the organisation to collaborate and deliver for the client and consumer. Establish and maintain strong, positive working connections with clients, colleagues, suppliers, and regulators as required. Consistently assists and collaborates with coworkers to achieve objectives. Clarifies and guides the team’s work, how the team fits within the business, and how the team’s activities impact others.
• Keep current on sector-specific legal and regulatory changes and alert others to the implications. Increase your capability by taking control of your professional development and actively pursuing opportunities to broaden your knowledge, skills, and experience. As needed, takes responsibility for the development of others, working with juniors to enhance their knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities via coaching, training, and other opportunities. Seeks and acts on criticism to improve their performance. 

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• Completed a lower level apprenticeship or job role, or will be a graduate.
• Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this before taking the end-point assessment.

Assessment methods

The End Point Assessment consists of two distinct assessment methods: 

• A Work-Based Project 
• A Structured Panel Interview based on the Portfolio of Evidence

Duration, level, subjects and potential salary upon completion

Apprenticeship standard

More information about the Level 7 Senior Investment or Commercial Banking Professional Apprenticeship standard can be found here.

Apprenticeship end point assessment

For more information about the End Point Assessment Process, please read the Institute of Apprenticeships’ information page.