Branch Management

The majority of branch management roles are based within a high street branch of a bank; so there’s the opportunity to follow a branch manager career in practically any town of city across the country with a number of the biggest bank names in the industry!

Branch managers hold a lot of responsibility. Their branch is their baby; they are accountable for everything that goes on at there. As such, the role is varied and demanding.

The lowdown on branch management

They will lead and motivate the branch staff, interpret business strategy, budget, and make sure the branch meets its sales targets. They have to enforce control measures in procedures across the branch, keep track of staff performance and ensure that they adhere to measures to minimise the risk of fraud. Branch managers will also produce reports on progress and targets to submit to regional managers and/or head office.

The role is also customer-facing. A lot of day-to-day interaction with customers is still necessary as a branch manager in retail banking; whether it’s dealing with complaints or offering advisory services. It’s therefore essential that a branch manager has cracking communication skills and is very good with people as they’ll have to present a friendly, reassuring face to the customer, and be able to get the very best performance out of their team.

How can I become a branch manager?

It’s possible to work the way up the ranks to become a branch manager, however it’s now possible for branch managers to start out as trainees either through a graduate programme, school leaver programme or Higher Apprenticeship designed to set participants on the path to management at an early stage.

Other roles further down the line include senior branch manager and regional branch manager; where there is usually responsibility to monitor and manage the performance of a cluster of branches in a certain area. This could often involve travel to go and spend time at other branches in the area as necessary.

Working hours are generally quite standard nine-to-five office hours and may include some Saturdays. A salary for an experienced branch manager can be in the region of £40,000 to £70,000.