Table Of ContentOpportunities in Banking Careers VGM
title:
Opportunities Series
author: Paradis, Adrian A.; Perry, Philip A.
publisher: NTC Contemporary
isbn10 | asin: 0844240494
print isbn13: 9780844240497
ebook isbn13: 9780071403764
language: English
Banks and banking--Vocational guidance,
Banks and banking--Vocational guidance--
subject
United States, Banks and banking--
Vocational guidance, Vocational guidance.
publication date: 1993
lcc: HG1573.P37 1993eb
ddc: 332.1/023/73
Banks and banking--Vocational guidance,
Banks and banking--Vocational guidance--
subject: United States, Banks and banking--
Vocational guidance, Vocational guidance.
Page i
VGM Opportunities Series
Opportunities In
Banking Careers
Adrian A. Paradis
Revised by Philip A. Perry
Foreword by Connie Landry
President
Financial Women International
VGM Career Horizons
a division of NTC Publishing Group
Lincolnwood, Illinois USA
Page ii
Cover Photo Credits:
Front cover: upper left, Citibank; upper right, First Chicago; lower
left, Wang Labs, Inc.; lower right, Continental Bank.
Back cover: upper left, First Chicago; upper right, Wang Labs, Inc.;
lower left, NTC print.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Paradis, Adrian A.
Opportunities in banking careers / Adrian Paradis.
p. cm. (VGM career books)
Rev. edition
Summary: Provides an overview of the banking industry and
information on educational requirements, employment opportunities,
salaries, and advancement possibilities in this field.
ISBN 0-8442-4050-8 (sft bnd.) ISBN 0-8442-4049-4 (hrd bnd.)
1. Banks and bankingVocational guidance. 2. Banks and banking
United StatesVocational guidance. [1. Banks and banking
Vocational guidance. 2. Vocational guidance.] I. Title.
II. Series.
HG1573.P37 1993
332.1'023'73dc20
9244175
CIP
AC
Published by VGM Career Horizons, a division of NTC Publishing
Group. © 1993 by NTC Publishing Group, 4255 West Touhy Avenue,
Lincolnwood (Chicago), Illinois 60646-1975 U.S.A. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of NTC Publishing Group. Manufactured in the United
States of America.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VP 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Page iii
About The Authors
Adrian A. Paradis was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated
from Dartmouth College and Columbia University's School of Library
Service. As a writer, businessman, vocational specialist, and
researcher, he has published widely with more than fifty titles to his
credit. He has covered subjects that range from banking to biographies
of contemporary businessmen and scientists; from public relations to
religion; from vocational guidance to reference works; and from
economics to law. In addition, he has worked on reports and special
studies in his capacity as a corporate executive.
Mr. Paradis spent over twenty years as an officer of a major national
corporation handling corporate matters, economic analysis,
stockholder relations, corporate philanthropic contributions, and
security and general administrative responsibilities. He and his wife
Grace live in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, where he serves as editor of
Phoenix Publishing, a small firm which specializes in regional trade
books and New England town histories.
Philip A. Perry prepared the 1992 revised edition. He is an
independent editor based in Evanston, Illinois. He has worked for
national business magazines and specialized in reporting on business
and the economy. He was associate editor of Real Estate Today for
five years, covering real estate finance.
Page v
Preface
It was Friday, March 3, 1933, the day before Franklin Delano
Roosevelt was inaugurated as President of the United States.
A young man bolted his lunch and rushed to the bank to deposit his
paycheck. He handed the deposit slip and check to the teller who
glanced about him nervously and then leaned forward and whispered:
"If I were you I'd just cash that checkdon't deposit it. I just heard that
every bank in the country is going to close tonight."
The young man's eyes widened. "Give it to me in fives," he said. Too
frightened to count the bills he received, he fled from the bank.
This was a black day indeed. There was scarcely a state in which
some banks were not closed or partially closed. Numerous offices and
factories were idle. Twelve million or more people were said to be
without jobs. Forlorn men stood on street corners of large cities trying
to sell apples to people who could afford to buy them. Grim humorists
in New York City were advising those who planned to visit the Wall
Street area to take their umbrellas with them. Every few minutes a
banker jumped out of a window. The nation was in the grip of terror.
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," President Roosevelt said the
next day in his inauguration speech, as he tried to reassure the nation.
One of his first acts was to close every bank in the country and place
an embargo on the export of gold.
Page vi
When the nation awoke on Monday morning, for the first time in its
history every banking institution was closed. It was a weird, chilling
sensation, a new experience to live without a single banking service
available, to know you could not get even a penny from your banka
penny of your money! Suddenly everyone realized how dependent on
banks they had become.
Every saving bank throughout the United States had closed,
frustrating many frugal savers who thought that they had protected
themselves against such a catastrophe. At the same time many banks
told depositors that they would have to give the bank sixty days'
advance notice before they could withdraw money from their accounts
after the banks reopened.
By Wednesday, March 8, cash became more scarce, and the bank
holiday was extended. Many cities and states began to issue paper
scrip to be used in place of cash until the banks reopened.
Some businesses still accepted checks. "Live and dine on your
checkbook," Manhattan's Commodore and Biltmore hotels advertised.
Franklin Simon, a Fifth Avenue department store, invited new charge
accounts and said they would take checks in payment of bills.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday passed and the bank holiday continued
as government officials labored long hours to decide which banks
were sound enough to reopen. Then Sunday evening at ten o'clock,
Washington time, the President gave the first of his famous radio
fireside chats.
"I do not promise you that every bank will be reopened or that
individual losses will not be suffered," he declared, "but there will be
no losses that possibly could be avoided; and there would have been
more and greater losses had we continued to operate."
The next day when many banks reopened, confidence was restored.
People poured money into the banks and an almost audible sigh of
relief could be heard in every city and town as the banking crisis
ended.
Much has changed since 1933. Some sweeping changes have reshaped
American banking during the last few years, and it is a
Page vii
challenging and exciting time to enter the field. New trends like
interstate branching may soon change the map of American banking.
One thing that has not changed is the need for talented people in a
field like banking. As this book explains, banking has always had a
key role in U.S. history. Today, U.S. bankers provide the capital for
further growth here and abroad.
Banking needs people with all kinds of skills and training. High
school graduates may begin as tellers, continuing their education and
advancing into management. College is usually required for entry into
a management trainee program, but banks will give tuition assistance
to promising employees. In the ranks of senior executives, highly
trained people with advanced degrees in finance, accounting,
computer science, and economics are also needed.
Since the last edition was published, investment banking has gained a
reputation for power and influence, and those who participated in the
mergers and acquisitions of the period made business history.
Investment bankers underwrote companies like Apple and Microsoft
that have become icons of our high-tech business success.
Also during the latter half of the 1980s, the federal banks stabilized
real estate finance during a crisis that affected many thrift institutions.
The banks, federal agencies, and government sponsored corporations
that serve the housing industry hold many opportunities described in
this book.
Students will be reading much in the newspapers about changes,
shakeouts, and downsizing. By the estimate of the American Bankers
Association, the number of professional bankers grew to 1,477,600 in
1992, up from 1,362,111 in 1979. Although not as high as the 1991
total of 1,499,868, this number still represents a huge industry. By
way of comparison, the steel and auto industries together employed
