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Banking and insurance

Are you interested in a career in banking and insurance? In this section you can find out more about what occupations in this sector involve along with advice on how to gain access to a career in banking and insurance.

What does a career in banking and insurance involve?

A career in insurance involves identifying potential risks for your client and taking suitable measures to protect their interests. Banking also revolves around protecting a client's interests and both sectors provide many opportunities for promotion.

Banking can include retail, private, corporate, investment, credit cards and other banking activities whereas insurance covers life and non-life insurance cover products. Banking can be split into three main areas: retail banking, corporate banking and investment banking. Retail banking provides services to small businesses; corporate banking to large companies and investment banking is when a client's money is invested in foreign exchange, the stock market, bonds etc.

The main function of the insurance sector is to ensure financial safeguards for both individuals and organisations to protect against potential risks.

Occupations in banking and insurance include:

• Actuary
• Banker, commercial/corporate lending
• Banking, investment, corporate finance
• Chartered loss adjuster
• Compliance, Regulatory Affairs Manager
• Credit analyst
• Data analyst
• Data scientist
• Financial adviser
• Financial modelling analyst
• Financial regulator
• Financial risk analyst
• Financial trader
• Insurance broker
• Retail banker
• Risk analyst
• Risk manager
• Statistician

Top graduate employers in banking and insurance

Some of the top graduate employers in banking and insurance include: Bank of Ireland, Goldman Sachs, AIB Group, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, Central Bank of Ireland, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Barclays.

What qualifications are needed for a career in banking and insurance?

No specific degree is required to work in banking and insurance, however experience and training can help you progress more quickly. A career in banking and insurance is possible for graduates with varying degrees and also non-graduates. The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) offers insurance qualifications and apprenticeships are also available to over 16's who do not have a degree.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland (CIOBS) provides banking and financial qualifications and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) offers useful information on graduate schemes and apprenticeships in the banking sector.

Average salary for graduates working in banking and insurance

Graduates in banking and insurance are amongst the highest earners in the UK, but this may often come at a price as hours are usually much longer than the average nine to five. The average salary for graduates working in banking in the UK is 31,625. The average salary for graduates working in insurance in the UK is £24,750.

You can find job, internship and work placement opportunities in banking and insurance by creating a profile on Wizbii.