How to hire a commercial banker

How to hire a commercial banker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step commercial banker hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a commercial banker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial banker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a commercial banker do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The commercial banker hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A commercial banker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, commercial bankers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents commercial banker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Commercial Banker	Description	Hourly rate
   Commercial Banker	Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses.	$24-58
   Investment Advisor	An investment advisor is responsible for managing the clients' financial portfolios, advising them of investment options according to their financial goals and objectives, and their ability to handle risks. Investment advisors should have excellent knowledge of the investment policies, providing the clients with the best financial strategies according to their interests... Show more	$28-88
   Escrow Officer	Escrow officers, commonly known as loan officers, are responsible for real estate processing and finalizing deals. They ensure all documents are authentic and prepared, property titles are clear, and financial obligations have been thoroughly met by the buyer and seller... Show more	$17-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Business Development
   • Treasury
   • Commercial Banking
   • Client Relationships
   • Financial Services
   • Cash Management
   • Bank Products
   • Commercial Loans
   • Capital Markets
   • Financial Products
   • Credit Analysis
   • Relationship Management
   • Treasury Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Establish leads by building upon existing clientele and developing relationships with major centers of influence including CPA's and attorneys.
   • Manage and develop commercial lenders and administrative assistants.
   • Manage commercial customer portfolios by using profile analysis to identify cross-sell opportunities to sell other products and services.
   • Manage origination initiatives associate with business accounts, treasury products, and loans while adhering to bank compliance procedures.
   • Develop strategies for optimal cash flow optimization through complex treasury and cash management solutions couple with appropriate credit instruments.
   • Train processors, establish compliance policy, establish and maintain business relationships with lenders and builders.

   More commercial banker duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your commercial banker job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A commercial banker salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a commercial banker in Louisiana may be lower than in New Mexico, and an entry-level commercial banker usually earns less than a senior-level commercial banker. Additionally, a commercial banker with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average commercial banker salary

   $78,697yearly

   $37.84 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level commercial banker salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average commercial banker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$88,990	$43
   2	Maryland	$86,505	$42
   3	Massachusetts	$83,812	$40
   4	Iowa	$83,148	$40
   5	California	$82,319	$40
   6	New York	$81,045	$39
   7	District of Columbia	$79,608	$38
   8	Oregon	$78,718	$38
   9	Missouri	$77,871	$37
   10	Nebraska	$76,151	$37
   11	Minnesota	$76,030	$37
   12	Florida	$75,868	$36
   13	Texas	$75,590	$36
   14	Illinois	$73,802	$35
   15	Ohio	$71,399	$34
   16	South Carolina	$70,471	$34
   17	Georgia	$68,384	$33
   18	Wisconsin	$66,559	$32
   19	Pennsylvania	$66,342	$32
   20	Colorado	$65,799	$32

   Average commercial banker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Northern Trust	$113,846	$54.73	2
   2	BMO Capital Markets	$107,401	$51.64	148
   3	Western Alliance Bank	$94,228	$45.30	13
   4	Webster Bank	$86,418	$41.55	14
   5	First Commonwealth Bank	$84,659	$40.70	7
   6	J.P. Morgan	$81,307	$39.09
   7	FNB	$80,592	$38.75
   8	Star Financial Bank Anderson Indiana	$79,633	$38.29	13
   9	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$78,691	$37.83	1,141
   10	Merchants Bank of Indiana	$76,914	$36.98	3
   11	Simmons Bank	$76,345	$36.70	49
   12	United Community Bank	$76,323	$36.69	54
   13	BankFinancial	$73,661	$35.41	17
   14	MRI The Boston Group	$72,237	$34.73
   15	BankUnited	$69,099	$33.22	27
   16	United Ban	$67,029	$32.23
   17	Waukesha State Bank	$66,849	$32.14
   18	Dallas Capital Bank	$65,866	$31.67
   19	Seacoast Bank	$64,989	$31.24	77
   20	Zions Ban	$63,987	$30.76

4. Writing a commercial banker job description

   A job description for a commercial banker role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a commercial banker job description:

   Commercial banker job description example

   Primary Office Location:
   1000 Bestgate Road Suite 105. Annapolis, Maryland. 21401.
   
   Join our team. Make a difference - for us and for your future.
   
   n
   Position Title: Commercial Banker 3
   Business Unit: Commercial Banking
   Reports To: Commercial Banking Team Leader
   
   Position Overview:
   This position is primarily responsible for developing new and existing commercial loan business relationships, administering a portfolio of commercial loans, determining the credit worthiness of borrowers, monitoring loan performance, preparing commercial loans for presentation and promoting the Bank's image in the community in order to meet or exceed commercial loan quality, profitability, growth and service objectives. The incumbent provides the highest quality of service to every customer.
   
   Primary Responsibilities:
   Develops new and existing commercial loan business relationships by calling on potential and existing customers to cross-sell all banking products including other banking services and to promote the Bank's image within limits of current budget and mix of products to develop new and expand existing commercial loan business and achieve profit and growth objectives.
   Administers a portfolio of commercial loans by preparing loans that meet credit quality, profitability, growth and service requirements as determined by portfolio yield, loss ratio, delinquency rate and other measures to achieve profit and growth objectives.
   Determines the credit worthiness of borrowers by making sound analysis of their financial condition, ability to repay the loan and the net realizable value of the collateral in accordance with established policy and procedure to ensure a portfolio of commercial loans that meet the Bank's quality standards.
   Monitors loan performance by maintaining contact with borrowers, monitoring the financial condition of borrowers and resolving problems and when appropriate waiving a request for financial statements according to established policies, procedures and regulations in an accurate and timely manner to reduce risk the Bank might incur from collateral deterioration or borrowers' inability to pay.
   Prepares loan documents that are in compliance with bank regulations for presentation, presents loans that are above the incumbent's lending limit to the loan committee or officer with higher lending limits communicating all elements of the loan to ensure compliance with regulations and to enhance the ability to make sound credit decisions.
   Promotes the Bank's image in the community by participating in community activities, coordinating community development efforts, promoting involvement and participation in community service organizations to assist in compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act, presents a favorable image in the community and establishes contacts that could generate new business.
   Develops and maintains an adequate level of knowledge in Commercial Banking, general banking and business development matters and demonstrates personal and interpersonal behavior, attitude, judgment, communication and initiative with customers and employees to ensure an acceptable degree of performance.
   Implements all compliance policies and procedures within the department and ensures the department staff receives adequate regulatory compliance training to perform job functions in compliance with regulatory requirements and standards, follows corporate Compliance policies and procedures and cooperates fully with all internal and external compliance reviews and examinations.
   Performs other related duties and projects as assigned.
   All employees have the responsibility and the accountability to serve as risk managers for their businesses by understanding, reporting, responding to, managing and monitoring the risk they encounter daily as required by F.N.B. Corporation's risk management program.
   
   F.N.B. Corporation is committed to achieving superior levels of compliance by adhering to regulatory laws and guidelines. Compliance with regulatory laws and company procedures is a required component of all position descriptions.
   
   Minimum Education:
   High School or GED
   
   Minimum Years Experience:
   10
   
   Special Skills:
   Excellent project management skills
   Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
   Excellent customer service skills
   Excellent organizational, analytical and interpersonal skills
   Ability to use a personal computer and job-related software
   MS Word - Intermediate Level
   MS Excel - Intermediate Level
   MS PowerPoint - Intermediate Level
   BA or BS preferred. Experience in a lending banking position and in an equivalent customer focused position. Knowledge of banking laws and regulations. Experience in community and civic activities.
   
   Special Licenses and Certificates:
   N/A
   
   Physical Requirements:
   N/A

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right commercial banker for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your commercial banker job on Zippia to find and attract quality commercial banker candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with commercial banker candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial banker

   Once you've found the commercial banker candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new commercial banker first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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