Back-office staff at a bank or credit union encompasses all positions that are not account holder-facing. These jobs on the operations side of a financial institution include a wide array of duties necessary to keep an institution functioning. Some of these departments include:

  • Loan operations
  • Deposit operations
  • Accounting
  • Compliance & auditing
  • Underwriting
  • Information technology
  • Loan Operations

Bank employees in the loan operations department prepare loan documents, book loans, track insurance, and send executed collateral documents out for recording. They also manage the tickler system and build paper loan files or scan documents to create electronic files. Additionally, back-office staff in the loan operations department take payments and execute loan modifications and extensions.

Deposit Operations

Among their many duties, those working in deposit operations perform boarding tasks for new accounts, handle stop-payments and non-sufficient funds (NSF) situations and send out statements. Back-office staff in the deposit department reissue credit and debit cards if a customer or member’s card was lost or stolen. They also research and provide subpoenaed information as well.

Accounting

The accounting department works with the financial institution’s general ledger. Back-office staff specializing in accounting keep an updated record of outstanding loan and deposit amounts as well as outgoing expenses, such as building maintenance and employee salaries. A bank or credit union’s accounting department also balances accounts daily, pays invoices for the institution, and generates reports for the institution’s board of directors as well as for federal regulators (such as call reports). Another aspect of the job may include using software to help make decisions to maximize the bank or credit union’s investments, earnings, liquidity, and capital.

Compliance and Auditing

The compliance and auditing department ensures that a financial institution’s policies and procedures are being followed. Other tasks may involve auditing loan files to see that they are being completed properly and monitoring to ensure the bank or credit union is following compliance requirements.

Underwriting

Although at some financial institutions underwriting is performed by lenders themselves (who are account holder-facing), underwriting is often considered a back-office position. This removes the human element that may otherwise sway a lender’s decision and ensures loan approval or denial is based on the pertinent data on the loan application.

Information Technology

The information technology (IT) department keeps a financial institution’s all-important computer systems running. This includes managing hardware and software, executing programs and reports, monitoring the bank or credit union’s cyber security, and handling in-house check processing. Although many banks and credit unions now outsource maintenance of their core systems, some still choose to manage them on-site; in these cases, back-office IT staff are in charge of intrusion testing to make sure the system is secure.

Other Back-Office Banking Departments

Like most businesses, banks and credit unions also have other standard departments, such as human resources (HR) and marketing. While the HR department handles recruitment, retention, annual reviews, and salary adjustments to keep the institution staffed, the marketing department works to keep current customers and members, and attract new account holders through printed materials, sponsorships, radio advertising, and other media channels.

Resources for Your Back-Office Staff

For more information on back-office management in the banking industry, be sure to check out our extensive resource library with free spreadsheets, whitepapers, and eBooks.

Browse our banking definitions page for more terminology.

Explore more resources

eBook: NXT Level Optimization in Digital Banking

Future Proof your Digital Channels Many digital banking solutions fall short of today’s user experience expectations, opening the door for larger, digital only players and jeopardizing your established banking relationships for both consumer and business...
Read More »

AccuAccount: Solution Overview Brochure

Track and manage every loan document in one system and streamline loan management from application through servicing with our core-integrated software platform. From loan application automation, to drag-and-drop document imaging, to document tracking, and five...
Read More »

Related articles

Wednesday 7 June 2023

Enterprise Information Management (EIM) Solutions and their Role in Safeguarding Data Privacy at your Financial Institution

Data privacy remains a top priority for banking leaders across the globe and unfortunately, there isn’t a single solution or tactic that will stop a…

Learn More »

Monday 5 June 2023

The Savings Boost: 3 Ways a Modernized Deposits Platform Cuts Costs in the Back Office

Are item processing operations costing financial institutions more than the revenue they generate? Many industry experts say yes. With check volumes decreasing, the cost to maintain…

Learn More »

Wednesday 31 May 2023

4 Reasons an Enterprise Content and Information Management Strategy is an Investment in Growth for your Financial Institution

An emphasis on digital engagements is pushing financial institutions to take a step beyond simply acquiring data, but to utilize that intelligence and incorporate transformative…

Learn More »

Thursday 25 May 2023

[Playbook] Enabling a “Decentralized” Strategy for Electronic Documents

Here’s the situation: Your commercial lenders feel overwhelmed by the amount of electronic documents that land in their inboxes each day. Financial statements, collateral documents…

Learn More »

Tuesday 23 May 2023

Business Banking: Understanding Account Takeover Fraud and the Importance of Dual Control within your Digital Banking Platform

Corporate account takeover can be costly for an organization to repair, which is why it's crucial for banks and credit unions to rely on modern…

Learn More »

Tuesday 16 May 2023

Which Cloud Deployment Model is Right for Your Financial Institution?

The American Bankers Association (ABA) estimates that more than 90% of financial institutions maintain at least some data, applications, or operations in the cloud today. If…

Learn More »

Wednesday 10 May 2023

The Employee Side of Digital Banking: Administrative Tools You Need to Easily and Effectively Manage your Digital Banking Platform

Launching a new digital banking solution is exciting for banks and credit unions, but this isn’t the end of the journey, it’s just the beginning…

Learn More »

Wednesday 19 April 2023

Cloud Banking: A Strategic Business Objective, Not an IT Project

Cloud adoption in the banking industry has proven tangible results for institutions of all sizes, showing positive growth in the adoption of hosted environments versus…

Learn More »