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When it comes to jobs in banking and lending, what's hot and what's not? Here's what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts for your sector.
Banking
It's not a pretty picture here, as employment prospects are worse than average. Banking employment will decline 2 percent by 2014 due to a mix of factors, including industry consolidation, deregulation, technology and automation, according to the BLS.
Despite that overall decline, some positions are expected to grow over the next decade, including financial analysts (up 20 percent), personal financial advisors (up 7 percent), financial services and securities sales agents (up 10 percent) and customer service representatives (up 13 percent). The BLS also predicts growing demand for personal bankers to advise and manage the assets of wealthy clients and the aging Baby Boomer generation.
Tellers and other administrative support personnel will always be in demand because of the high turnover in these relatively low-paying jobs.
The biggest cuts -- where employment declines of up to 50 percent are expected -- will be in back-office areas where credit authorizers, checkers and clerks are being replaced by technology such as digital imaging, the BLS says.
Lending
The BLS expects employment of loan officers and counselors to grow more slowly than average for all occupations through 2014.
In the years ahead, loan officers will face a double-edged sword: If interest rates stay low, demand for loans will remain high. However, technology is making loan officers more productive, so fewer are needed overall. And other technology advances, including credit scoring and secure online applications, have allowed customers to skip over the loan officer and apply directly to the lender.
When interest rates rise, refinances dry up, so loan officers must scramble for business or see their earnings decline. When rates fall and the economy is on the upswing, the loan officer's fortune rises.
Looking at macroeconomic trends, two areas may offer opportunity for loan officers looking to ride out rising interest rates: emerging markets and aging Baby Boomers.
The emerging markets include borrowers that bankers have not traditionally sought as mortgage customers, such as immigrants, older folks who haven't used credit recently and young, upwardly mobile professionals, such as doctors with heavy student loan debt.
Baby Boomers, the oldest of whom are starting to turn 60, are expected to fuel rising demand for reverse mortgages. In addition to loan officers, reverse-mortgage companies will also need to hire operations and servicing staff to handle increased volume.
