Careers at the OCC:
Entry-Level Bank Examiner Careers
Do you enjoy solving problems and analyzing financial data? Like to travel and meet new people? Do you communicate effectively and work well with others? If so, you may be an ideal candidate to become an entry-level bank examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
The Job of an Assistant National Bank Examiner
Assistant National Bank Examiners support the supervision of national community banks across the country. Assignments cover all areas of banking and include examining loans, interest rate risk, capital, liquidity, consumer protection programs, and compliance with banking laws and regulations like the Bank Secrecy Act.
Assistant National Bank Examiners:
- Organize and analyze selected data;
- Complete bank supervision procedures;
- Check compliance with laws and regulations;
- Gather information through discussions with other employees;
- Discuss findings with other examiners and bank management;
- Draw conclusions and recommend corrective action; and
- Conduct off-site analyses, write memoranda and reports, and update or write examination comments under close supervision.
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Do I Qualify?
To become an entry-level bank examiner, you will need:
A bachelor's degree with a major in accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing, or closely-related field from an accredited U.S. institution (Check accreditation.),
or
Three years of work experience in accounting or auditing in a financial institution or in work related to a financial institution,
or
Equivalent combinations of education and experience, such as a CPA certificate.
Citizenship: Consistent with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and other applicable law, applicants who are U.S. citizens will be preferred over equally qualified non-citizens.
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Competitive Salaries
The OCC offers competitive salaries under a performance-based pay plan. Generally, entry-level examiners start out earning $47,000 per year, plus an additional supplement in certain geographic areas.
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Benefits
The OCC offers one of the best benefits programs in government. Our health and life insurance and retirement programs are among the best in government and compare well to private companies.
The agency provides free dental, vision, and long-term disability. It covers more than 84 percent of premium costs associated with federal health insurance plans, and offers low-cost supplemental life insurance and short-term disability insurance.
In addition to the standard federal retirement plan, the OCC also offers a 401(k) plan with traditional and Roth options that includes agency contributions and matching.
Because quality of life is important, the OCC offers flexible spending accounts for employees to make pre-tax contributions to cover additional costs of health care, dependent care, and parking as well as a subsidy to assist with transportation costs.
One of our most popular benefits is the "Flex Day." This allows employees to work the standard eighty hours in nine workdays, providing every other Friday off. Additionally, we offer ten federal holidays and two and a half weeks vacation.
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How to Apply
To apply, send the following information to one of the OCC District Offices listed below:
- Cover letter,
- Resume,
- College transcript(s),
- Location preference form, and
- DD-214 and/or SF-15 (DVA Certified within the past 12 months), if you are claiming Veteran's Preference and/or service-connected disability.
Electronic submissions in PDF or Word are preferred, but fax submissions will be accepted. Please include a current e-mail address.
If your degree is from a foreign institution, please provide certification that the program is equivalent to a U.S. accredited program. Please see this link for more information.
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How the Process Works
If you apply by e-mail, you will receive an automated response upon submission. If you fax your material, you will receive an e-mail confirming we have received your material within 2 business days of receipt.
If you have not received further information regarding the status of your application by October 27, contact the Human Resource Consultant listed under the district where you submitted your application.
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When should you apply?
To be considered for our fall 2008 recruitment campaign, we must receive your application by September 30, 2008. If your packet does not include all requested information, or if you apply to multiple districts, it may be considered incomplete. Please send all information in one submission.
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Where do you send your application?
Please refer back to the Location Preference Form and submit your information to the district you requested. Please do not apply to multiple districts. If you choose locations in more than one district, we will process your resume packet in the district where your first choice city is located. No applicants will be interviewed in more than one district.
E-mail or fax your application to only one of the districts below:
Northeast District
NorthDistrictEntry@occ.treas.gov
Fax: 301 433-6929
Human Resource Consultant: Allan Gabel, 212 790-4092
Central District
CentralDistrictEntry@occ.treas.gov
Fax: 312 435-1370
Human Resource Consultant: Chandra Barnes, 312 360-8922
Southern District
SouthDistrictEntry@occ.treas.gov
Fax: 214 720-7040
Human Resource Consultant: Jessie Riley, 214 720-7064
Western District
WestDistrictEntry@occ.treas.gov
Fax: 301 433-8459
Human Resource Consultant: Richard Rockwell, 720 475-7621
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Work Environment
The OCC has a diversified workforce of more than 3,000 people and a work environment that promotes creative and thoughtful contributions by people in all positions. As an entry-level examiner, you will spend 30-to-80 percent of your early career traveling to banks across the country, depending on your work location. You may work in OCC field offices, at banks, their boardrooms, or their branches.
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Examiner Jobs in Mid-size/Community Banks
Entry-level bank examiners begin their careers in our Mid-size/Community Bank line of business. This experience provides the foundation for learning the practical aspects of bank supervision.
You will work mainly in cities that are home to community banks and will likely be based in one of our 70 field office across the country.
Community bank supervision focuses on banks that typically conduct traditional banking activities. While some community banks range from $1 billion to $8 billion in assets, most have less than $1 billion in assets.
Mid-size bank supervision generally includes national banking companies with assets between $8 billion and $25 billion. While mid-size banks are located throughout the country, oversight is centralized under a single OCC deputy comptroller located in Washington, D.C., to facilitate consistent supervision.
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Career Advancement
Careers at the OCC can be rewarding and offer opportunity for advancement. Assistant National Bank Examiners spend six to eight months on a training team participating in bank examinations, meeting with bank managers, and making recommendations and suggestions. Several years of formal and informal training lead to the Uniform Commissioned Examination (UCE). Successful completion of the UCE means a commission as a National Bank Examiner and opportunities to manage an entire bank examination as an examiner-in-charge (EIC). Some examiners go into specialized areas, such as asset management, bank information technology, international banking, capital markets, compliance, credit, and retail credit.
For community banks, the OCC uses a "Portfolio Manager Approach" to foster ongoing relationships with bankers and to build examiners' in-depth knowledge of banks and their operating environments. Local examiners exercise substantial judgment, oversee a group of institutions, and directly participate in ongoing bank supervision activities. This fosters effective and consistent communication between examiners and bank managers, ensures continuity in supervisory matters, and enhances the OCC's responsiveness to bankers' questions and concerns.
For mid-size banks, the OCC assigns a dedicated EIC to each bank to develop and implement a supervisory strategy, with assistance from other examiners involved in the supervision of either community or large banks.
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