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The differences between commercial bankers and loan officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a commercial banker and a loan officer. Additionally, a commercial banker has an average salary of $78,697, which is higher than the $45,817 average annual salary of a loan officer.
The top three skills for a commercial banker include customer service, business development and treasury. The most important skills for a loan officer are customer service, origination, and loan origination.
| Commercial Banker | Loan Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,697 | $45,817 |
| Hourly rate | $37.84 | $22.03 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 45,270 | 63,663 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A commercial banker is responsible for providing financial advice and selling financial instruments to corporate clients according to their business needs and specifications. Commercial bankers process the opening and registration of corporate client accounts, updating the clients with current financial services, and resolving account disputes. They also manage investment options and identify opportunities that would help the bank gain more prospective clients that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. A commercial banker must have excellent knowledge of the banking industry to determine banking solutions for clients for their best interests.
Loan officers are responsible for assisting borrowers on the best type of loans to avail and guiding the clients throughout the application process. A loan officer must be highly knowledgeable about different lending products, payment plans, loan regulations, and essential files for fast loan approval. Loan officers also act as the first point of contact, conducting an initial screening of the customers, process loan contracts and appropriate documentation, update account records, and respond to customer's inquiries. A loan officer also has the right to reject loan applicants who do not meet loan qualifications.
Commercial bankers and loan officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Banker | Loan Officer | |
| Average salary | $78,697 | $45,817 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $121,000 | Between $30,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | New York |
| Best paying company | Northern Trust | Bangor Savings Bank |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a commercial banker and a loan officer in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Banker | Loan Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between commercial bankers' and loan officers' demographics:
| Commercial Banker | Loan Officer | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5% | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |