Entry-Level Financial Institution Specialists –the first step into the Corporate Employee Program (CEP)

The Corporate Employee Program prepares FDIC’s workforce of Financial Institution Specialists to be ready for rapid changes in the financial industry and resulting shifts in corporate workload. To achieve this flexibility, the Financial Institution Specialists (a.k.a. Corporate Employees) are developed in an array of functional proficiencies so they be rapidly deployed to different mission-critical efforts.

 The Job of a Financial Institution Specialist

Financial Institution Specialists participate in the assessment of financial institutions to determine:

• safe and sound practices, violations of law and regulation
• the adequacy of internal controls and procedures
• the general character of management
• compliance with consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights laws and regulations, and the Community Reinvestment Act

 To carry out these responsibilities, Financial Institution Specialists:

• review, monitor and provide analysis of information pertaining to resolutions, settlements, pro-forma preparation, information package preparation, and deposit insurance claims.
• write comments and analyses for inclusion in reports and meet with insured depository institution officials to discuss the findings of an examination and, if necessary, any corrective programs.

 Where do Financial Institution Specialists work?

Our regions are: Atlanta, Boston/New York, Chicago, Dallas/Memphis, Kansas City, San Francisco and Washington, DC.  Financial Institution Specialists work out of field offices within the Regions --

 Do you qualify as an entry-level Financial Institution Specialist?

 To become a Financial Institution Specialist, you will need:

• U.S. Citizenship
• the level of education or experience, or a combination of both education and experience described below that qualifies for the grade 7 in the federal employment schedule.

 Education-Based Requirements

 Applicants who qualify for hire based on education must receive their degrees prior to initial appointment. To be qualifying, education must have been earned at accredited colleges or universities.  While all coursework requirements are stated in semester hours, quarter hour equivalents are, of course, accepted.

 To qualify for the entry level on the basis of education, you must meet one of the following two requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for one full academic year of graduate education. This education must include major study in accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing, or other related fields. This graduate education must include at least 24 semester hours in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, or economics with at least six semester hours of accounting (these six semester hours of accounting may have been earned at the undergraduate level),

OR

2. Completion of all requirements for a bachelor’s degree for which the major study is in accounting, banking, business administration, commercial or banking law, economics, finance, marketing, or other fields related to the position, which includes a minimum of 24 semester hours  in business administration, finance, economics, marketing, or accounting subjects, with at least six semester hours in accounting with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA).

To qualify for Superior Academic Achievement (SAA), you must meet one of the following:

a) A grade-point average of “B” (i.e., a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.

b) A grade-point average of “B+” (i.e., a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.

c) Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, University, or major subdivision.

d) Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies  http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp

 Experienced-Based Requirements

To qualify for a grade CG-7 Financial Institution Specialist job:

You must have one year of experience which demonstrated skill in gathering and analyzing financial data; interpreting balance sheets and income statements; and using a variety of software applications. To be creditable, experience must have been equivalent to at least the CG-5. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

1. Work requiring a thorough knowledge and application of commercial accounting or auditing principles and practices (but less than full professional accounting knowledge) with a financial institution.

2. Examining or auditing such financial institutions as savings and loan associations, savings or commercial banking institutions or trust companies, farm credit associations, or Federal or State credit unions.

3. Professional accounting or auditing work that provided a broad knowledge of the application of accounting or auditing principles and practices.

4. Work that provided a thorough knowledge of Federal and State laws applicable to the type of financial institution involved (e.g., savings and loan associations, Bank for Cooperatives, savings or commercial banks, investment institutions, etc.), and of the operations and practices of such institutions.

Combination Education and Experience-Based Requirements

Combinations of successfully completed education and experience may be used to meet the full qualification requirements for the CG-7 as long as the education and experience demonstrates skill in gathering and analyzing financial data; interpreting balance sheets and income statements; and using a variety of software applications.

Career Advancement

New entry level employees will be appointed at the grade CG-7 as Financial Institution Specialists for a three-year excepted service internship, with potential conversion to a permanent Financial Institution Specialist position with the FDIC.

 Successful progress in meeting the CEP milestone requirements will allow management to promote Financial Institution Specialists to CG-9 at which level they will be developing a specialization in the tracks of risk management or compliance financial institution examination, in order to achieve a Financial Institution Specialist commission. 

Employees who successfully complete the three-year internship and either finalize commissioning or demonstrate a high potential for successfully completing commissioning will be converted to permanent career appointments. Those employees who have not been commissioned prior to conversion must complete commissioning within 12 months, or they will be separated from the FDIC.

As part of the CEP, along with an examination commission, the FIS will acquire a certification in resolutions and receiverships (R&R). Upon commissioning and completion of the R&R certificate, employees are promoted to the CG-11.  Following one year at the 11 level, and upon completion of a second certification of expertise in a specialization in risk, compliance or R&R areas, the Corporate Employee will be eligible for promotion to the CG-12 level, which is the full performance level for the Financial Institution Examiner position.

Note:  If the financial institution supervision workload changes significantly due to unforeseen shifts in the industry that FDIC oversees, management may not be able to convert interns to career appointments in order to limit staff growth.

Work and On-the-Job Training Assignments in the First Year

The participants will broadly cover all the areas of the CEP during a multi-functional training program that will include the following assignments:

• Field Office assignment focused on risk management
• Field Office assignment focused on consumer rights and community reinvestment compliance
• Regional Office assignment in Dallas, Texas, to learn about resolutions and receivership activities
• Short programs in Washington, DC Headquarters, including a one-week orientation, a two- week program on insurance and research, and two weeks of classroom training with the Introduction to Examinations School.

To maximize the training program, Financial Institution Specialists may be temporarily assigned outside their official duty location either to obtain training or complete work assignments.

Professional Development

After attending a comprehensive orientation program, Financial Institution Specialists will receive training and on-the-job experience in the various FDIC business lines. The development plan provides Financial Institution Specialists with basic corporate knowledge and skills transferable across the Risk Management, Compliance and Resolutions and Receiverships areas.

Financial Institution Specialists will meet periodically to share experiences and develop a corporate network that reaches across functional lines. Upon completion of this general skills development plan, Financial Institution Specialists will be placed on a Risk Management, Compliance or Resolutions and Receiverships commissioning track. This will be based on corporate need, as well as employee aptitude and preference. Financial Institution Specialists will continue to be exposed to functions outside of their specialized area and are expected to remain current in the additional function(s).   

Upon completion of the intern phase of the CEP, Financial Institution Specialists will have Professional Learning Accounts available for further career development and credential completion.   FDIC’s internal training has been certified by professional associations for credit for continuing education requirements, and we encourage motivated employees to pursue CPAs, CFAs and other valuable credentials that will enhance their professional advancement.

Travel and Relocation

Frequent travel is required for regular duty assignments in financial institutions, formal training, and rotational training. The degree and means of travel varies with the official duty station of the Financial Institution Specialist.

The FDIC reimburses travel expenses including lodging costs and compensation for the use of an employee’s privately owned automobile.

After the possible initial relocation, subsequent relocations may be based on management needs and/or the career goals of the employee.

Candidates will be assigned to an FDIC field office.  After the initial rotation training period, employees may be relocated to another field office as they begin to specialize for their chosen discipline.  

The FDIC offers a comprehensive package of employee benefits and  worklife programs.  Some benefits are at no cost while others involve a  premium or contribution, often on a pre-tax basis:

telework, alternative work schedules, part-time employment, 

Information and Referral Services and Elder Care Support Services.

Business Casual Dress Code. Clinical Support Services.

HOW TO APPLY

To obtain instructions to apply on-line, you must:

1. talk to an FDIC recruiter in a participating campus recruiting event or professional and diversity event

    OR

2. contact a participating college career placement office from a targeted school or a professional organization

If you are not affiliated with the participating schools or professional organizations, you may obtain instructions on how to apply by attending a job fair open to the general public or another recruiting outreach event listed in item number 1.