If you’re looking for a job in the banking sector, you may be interested in Business Analyst interview questions and answers for banking domain.
I get this query from a LOT of my readers, because many of them have only a little background in banking and are worried they can’t get past a potential employer’s interview.
To me, the banking domain can be challenging to master. For me, even after almost two decades in the Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI), I reckon I still have a lot to learn about the sector.
In this article, I want to go through some of the common business analyst interview questions and answers for banking domain that you may come across.
Armed with this knowledge, hopefully you’ll be able to navigate some of banking interview questions more skillfully.
Question 1: Why Do You Want To Join The Banking Industry?
This is EASILY one of the most common questions banking employers will ask you in an interview, particularly if you’ve had no experience in the sector.
The way I’d tackle this question is to give a real example or an actual where you’d encountered banking. Then explain why it made an impact on you and triggered you to think about working in the banking industry.
Some examples may include:
You took a part-time job or interned at a bank and was curious about how a particular bank of the bank worked.
You’ve received exceptional customer service from a leading bank and were intrigued or impressed by the way they run the bank – and that got you interested in banking as a career.
In fact, I’ve also written about the answer to this question over here, where I went into the top 5 business analyst interview questions and answers for banking domain.
Question 2: Which part of banking do you want to work in? Tell me what you know about this area of banking and what skills you bring to the table.
This is not an easy question to answer if you’ve not done your homework on the prospective bank you’re trying to join as a Business Analyst.
Remember, as part of ANY interview preparation, you must ALWAYS, ALWAYS, do a read up on the company, and write down brief notes on what you learnt about it.
I’d often go as far as to think of myself working in the part of the bank I want to join, e.g. the Private Bank and imagine what the day-to-day routine will be like.
I mean, if you’re a serious job candidate, you’d definitely have these considerations in your mind.
Question 3: I’m not looking for someone with deep banking skills – that can be picked up over time. What are your areas of deep expertise, e.g. are you strong in IT architecture, data analytics, accounting?
Remember – a banking employer MAY NOT always want you for your banking domain skills.
Banking domain skills are certainly an advantage, but they are not the be all and end all.
Your other transferable skills are very important too. You be very clear about your value proposition to the employer.
What are your unique capabilities?
Practice articulating your value proposition so that you can almost hone it into a 30-second elevator pitch.
For example:
- What is your industry focus? Which part of banking – retail, commercial, private or investment banking?
- What solution areas do you specialize in? Data analytics? Machine learning? Robotic process automation?
- What profession do you specialize in? Project management, business analysis, etc.?
Again, I’ve mentioned some of this over here in this article and also here.
Question 4: Tell me the high-level, end-to-end business flow of a Retail Banking Value Chain, from the time a retail customer walks into the bank branch until the time he buys or invests in a product.
This question will be a killer for those without banking background.
Basically, the employer wants you to articulate a banking process flow, from the customer interaction point at the branch, through to account opening, Know-Your-Client (KYC), product advice and documentation, middle office compliance checks and back-office payments and settlement.
My advice here is to pick up an end-to-end view of banking first before you enter the interview.
Business Analyst interview questions and answers for banking domain can be tough if you don’t learn these things beforehand.
I’ve written a guide book called Banking Domain Knowledge for Business Analysts that will help you out.
Spend just an hour on the book and you’ll get a very good grasp of the banking industry and its key, end-to-end processes.
Question 5: What do you do in your spare time?
This is an important “soft skills” question. These days, more and more employers are looking for soft skills in their job candidates.
How you lead a team. How you handle negotiations. How you resolve conflicts. And also how you have fun, what special hobbies you may have.
Whilst there are no right answers to this question, I’d say it is always good to come prepared with a couple of data points around what you do in your spare time.
And please DO NOT say things like watching TV or reading – but things which are more impactful and really make a different to the world.
Some possible ideas:
- Volunteering at an old folks’ home
- Raising some funds for someone in need
- Traveling to Cambodia to build a school for the poor
Wrapping Up …
I hope the above has given you some great insight into possible Business Analyst interview questions and answers for banking domain you can expect if you’re scheduled for an interview.
Remember, no question is too tough as long as you’ve done all the preparation you can.
Follow my tips above and you’ll do just fine.
If you want to learn more about the banking domain as a Business Analyst, check out this very useful resource.
Also, you may wish to check out another article I wrote about the Top 5 Banking Business Analyst interview questions.
