How attractive is banking as a career?

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I adapt stories into Japanese and am responsible for the weekly "Press Review" from Switzerland in Japanese. I'm especially interested in Swiss politics, economics and finance. I worked at the Japanese media organisation Nikkei for 8 years where I was responsible for covering ministers, the Bank of Japan and financial markets. I have been working for SWI swissinfo.ch since 2016.

Deutsch

Wie attraktiv ist Bankier:in als Beruf?
Français

Quel est l’attrait d’une carrière dans la banque?
Italiano

Un lavoro nel settore bancario è ancora una prospettiva attrattiva?
Español

¿Qué tan atractivo es trabajar en la banca?
Português

Vale a pena se tornar bancário?
日本語

銀行員の仕事に魅力を感じますか？ Original
العربية

إلى أي حد يُعدّ العمل في البنوك جذّابا؟
中文

银行投资家的工作对你有多大的吸引力？

Stable, well-paid and high-status: banking was once one of the most sought-after professions in Switzerland.

But today, the Swiss banking sector faces many challenges: fintech is flourishing, traditional banking is facing fierce competition, and high executive bonuses are heavily criticised.

In March 2023 Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, was merged with its rival UBS, which not only led to massive job cuts but also cast a shadow over the reputation of the Swiss financial industry.

Is being in banking a dream job in your country? Have you ever wanted to work in banking? How would you react if your child wanted to work in banking?

Some of your answers may be used in a future article. Thank you very much!

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Nicklas 2023-11-30 22:46

Due to increased EU, UN and especially OECD regulations of Swiss banks, it is not only less attractive to be a banker in Switzerland, but also increasingly a socialist tax collector job which is so extremely legally regulated that only a lawyer can be a "banker" these days.

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-12-11 15:19

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@Nicklas

Thanks for the interesting pointers. So it is now tax collectors and lawyers who work in banks? If so, where are the traditional bankers now?

興味深いご指摘をありがとうございます。銀行で働いているのはtax collectorやlawyerになっているのですね。そうなると、伝統的なbankerは今、どこにいるのでしょうか？

御子神鋭士 2023-11-04 15:41

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

I have experience as a banker, asset manager, and trader within the group of a certain foreign financial institution.

As others have already commented, it has been said since I joined the company that GPT (AI) will replace human resources in the future.

Only a few competent traders and employees will be able to do the work.

What the Singularity will bring is not the evolution of AI itself, but the failure to recognize that mankind has not caught up with it.

某外資系金融機関のグループ内で銀行、アセットマネジメント、トレーダーを経験致しました。

先に他の方もコメントされておりますが、今後はGPT（AI）に依る業務が人間にとって代わると自分が在籍した頃より言われて来ました。

ごく一部の有能なトレーダーや社員のみが業務を執り行う事になるのでしょう。

『シンギュラリティ』が齎す物は、AIの進化そのものではなく、人類が“ソレ”に追い付いていない事を認識出来ていない事です。

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-11-07 10:29

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@御子神鋭士

Will bankers play the role of connecting AI and customers, or will it be mechanized?

銀行業界内部では既にAI進化への備えができている、ということでしょうか。AIと顧客をつなぐ役割は、銀行員が果たすのでしょうか、それともそれも機械化されていくのでしょうか。

Felix von Wartburg 2023-11-04 04:21

The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

With the support of my teachers and careers advisors, I wanted to become a teacher. My father prevented this because he was afraid that he would have to support my career financially for many years. With the help of a lawyer from his student fraternity, into which he had smuggled himself as a non-academic, he signed an apprenticeship contract without ever having spoken to me about it. But a career in a bank was not on my wish list, not at all, and not even in last place. But what I learned in the three years of my apprenticeship is that banks are nothing more than parasites and exploiters. Banks and the entire financial sector poison every decent life. Banks can only make profits because others have to bleed for them. How can you be proud of that? That is simply PFUI!

Mein Berufswunsch war – unterstützt von meinen Lehrern und Berufsberatern – Lehrer zu werden. Mein Vater hat dies verhindert, weil er fürchtete, meine Laufbahn für viele Jahre finanziell unterstützen zu müssen. Mit Hilfe eines Juristen aus seiner Studenten-Verbindung, in die er sich als Nicht-Akademiker eingeschmuggelt hatte, unterschrieb er einen Lehrvertrag, ohne jemals mit mir darüber gesprochen zu haben. Ein Beruf auf einer Bank stand aber nicht auf meiner Wunschliste, gar nicht, und nicht mal an letzter Stelle. Was ich aber in den drei Lehrjahren gelernt habe ist, dass Banken nichts anderes sind als Schmarotzer und Ausbeuter. Banken und die gesamte Finanzwirtschaft vergiften jedes menschenwürdige Leben. Die Gewinne von Banken können nur entstehen, weil andere dafür bluten müssen. Wie kann man darauf stolz sein? Das ist einfach PFUI!

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-11-08 13:36

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@Felix von Wartburg

Thank you for your valuable experience. It must have been difficult to live an unwanted internship.
The point "Die Gewinne von Banken können nur entstehen, weil andere dafür bluten müssen." is very interesting. Are there any readers (bankers) who would like to refute this?

貴重な体験記をありがとうございます。望まない実習生活は辛かったことでしょう。
Die Gewinne von Banken können nur entstehen, weil andere dafür bluten müssen. という点は非常に興味深いです。反論したい読者（銀行家）はいませんでしょうか？

LynxVegas 2023-11-03 09:30

Bankers earn far too much money, receive too high benefits, and do too little work. I hope your future article will look at how customers get ripped off. For example, why is there such a low interest rate for savers? My money would be better off under my bed, as there are no bank charges there.

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-11-07 10:23

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@LynxVegas

Thank you for your comment. It may be one of the tasks required of bankers to be accountable to their customers to avoid such distrust.

コメントありがとうございます。そのような不信感を持たれないように、顧客への説明責任を果たすことも、銀行員に求められる仕事の1つかもしれません。

Norby 2023-10-27 22:48

The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

Banks have no future.
The central banks are working on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
If people are smart, they will realize that banks will no longer be needed. In fact, all that will be needed is the SNB and one branch per village.

Due to the rising interest rates which we owe to the central banks, the international financial system will collapse in the near future. This could be prevented if the interest rates would be lowered to ZERO again.

Banken haben keine Zukunft.
Die Zentralbanken werkeln am digitalen Zentralbankgeld (englisch Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC).
Wenn die Menschen schlau sind, werden sie erkennen dass es dann keine Banken mehr braucht. Eigentlich braucht es dann nur noch die SNB und pro Dorf eine Filiale.

Durch die steigenden Zinsen welche wir den Zentralbanken zu verdanken haben wird das internationale Finanzsystem in nächster Zeit zusammenbrechen. Dies liesse sich verhindern wenn die Zinsen wieder auf NULL gesenkt werden würden.

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-10-31 13:17

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@Norby

Thank you for your input. It is true that CBDC is going to change the banking business a lot.
However, with only one central bank and one branch in the village, I feel that it will not create competition, which is more negative for the consumer.

ご意見ありがとうございます。確かにCBDCも銀行の仕事を大きく変えそうですね。
しかし村に中央銀行と1つの支店しかない状況では、競争が生まれず、消費者にとってはマイナスの方が大きいような気もします。

高口章 2023-10-26 11:49

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

I was a securitiesman and a banker during a period of great economic growth. Today, due to the rapid expansion of the economy, including population, we have reached a world that is out of control, and at the same time, geopolitical risks have become a constant. Even the U.S. budget deficit has doubled in one year, and we are entering a very difficult period. In conclusion, the position of bankers will be a great challenge, as the emergence of GTP has already covered the majority of financial services, and unfortunately, it has a more accurate quality and suitability than human services.
The quality of bankers and analysts that can compete with GTP will be required, but I am sure that there will also be great bankers who will use GTP in combination with GTP.

経済の大きな成長期に証券マンと銀行員をしておりました。現在では人口を含め経済規模の急速な拡大により、統制が効かない世界に到達しており、同時に地政学リスクも恒常化しております。米国の財政赤字でさえも1年で倍増と大変な時代に突入しております。結論から申し上げると、ここからの銀行員のポジションは大きな試練と考えます。GTPの出現は金融サービスの大半を既に網羅出来ており、且つ残念ながら人的なサービス以上の正確なクオリティと適合性を備えていると考えます。
GTPに勝てる銀行員やアナリストの質が求められますが、逆にGTPを併用する素晴らしい銀行員も生まれるんでしょうね。

朋子ムートゥ SWI SWISSINFO.CH 2023-10-27 07:17

The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

@高口章

Thank you for your valuable input. It is interesting to hear that GPTs have higher accuracy and suitability than humans, even from someone from the banking and securities industry.
I guess it may depend on the generation and the way they were educated whether that would make them give up working in the financial industry or find it attractive as a challenge.

貴重なご意見ありがとうございます。銀行・証券業界出身の方から見てもGPTが人間より高い正確さ・適合性を備えているとは興味深いです。
それによって金融業界での仕事に見切りをつけるか、チャレンジングだと魅力を感じるかは、世代や教育の受け方によっても異なるかもしれませんね。