Credit analyst vs investigative analyst

The differences between credit analysts and investigative analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a credit analyst, becoming an investigative analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an investigative analyst has an average salary of $125,975, which is higher than the $61,422 average annual salary of a credit analyst.

The top three skills for a credit analyst include customer service, credit analysis and customer accounts. The most important skills for an investigative analyst are criminal justice, external stakeholders, and anti-money laundering.

Credit analyst vs investigative analyst overview

	Credit Analyst	Investigative Analyst
Yearly salary	$61,422	$125,975
Hourly rate	$29.53	$60.56
Growth rate	-5%	3%
Number of jobs	16,406	28,703
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	39	44
Years of experience	2	4

What does a credit analyst do?

A credit analyst's role is to assess and determine a client's capacity to uphold financial obligations when applying for loans or credit programs. Working for creditors like banks and lending firms, a credit analyst must interpret and analyze financial data and personal records, identify inconsistencies and risks, and verify necessary documentation in support of loan committees. Furthermore, a credit analyst must also perform administrative tasks such as preparing reports and applications, fulfilling document requests, reaching out to clients, and coordinating with colleagues to assure accuracy in all operations.

What does an investigative analyst do?

An investigative analyst is responsible for handling and resolving suspicious activities that pose risks for an organization's reputation and stability. Investigative analysts review incident reports, such as fraud and other law violations, strategizing on effective ways to minimize losses and prevent misconduct reoccurrence. They collect evidence, including documents and interviews, to support their claims and record their findings. An investigative analyst must be highly communicative and organizational, as well as the ability to keep and secure confidential information until further notice.

Credit analyst vs investigative analyst salary

Credit analysts and investigative analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Credit Analyst	Investigative Analyst
Average salary	$61,422	$125,975
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $93,000	Between $102,000 And $154,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Montana
Best paying company	Apollo Global Management	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between credit analyst and investigative analyst education

There are a few differences between a credit analyst and an investigative analyst in terms of educational background:

	Credit Analyst	Investigative Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY at Binghamton

Credit analyst vs investigative analyst demographics

Here are the differences between credit analysts' and investigative analysts' demographics:

	Credit Analyst	Investigative Analyst
Average age	39	44
Gender ratio	Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8%	Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 10.5% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	9%

Differences between credit analyst and investigative analyst duties and responsibilities

Credit analyst example responsibilities.

Provide treasury with funding requirements to maximize LIBOR rate advantage.
Manage a team to help facilitate efficient loan origination, underwriting and closing.
Lead a presentation to the FHA quantitative team by using multiple data visualization techniques.
Manage A/R transactions, prepare weekly account reconciliation's, perform research/ adjustments on A/P and A/R discrepancy accounts.
Utilize data manipulation and quantitative analysis using VBA macros, SQL and advance excel knowledge to manage credit risk exposure.
Manage accounting operations, accounting close, account reporting and reconciliations.

Investigative analyst example responsibilities.

Manage a team responsible for an audit and complete overhaul of a lab after finding several critical HIPAA violations.
Manage reporting, investigating identity thefts, identifying account take over and AML, conducting compliance audits and account closures as needed
Manage the Medicaid provider exclusion and reinstatement monitoring and reporting activities to meet customer expectations and government requirements.
Provide QA oversight of corrective and preventive actions by reviewing and entering data into the CAPA system.
Increase focus on data privacy and breaches, HIPAA compliance, third-party due diligence and export controls.
Review ACH, wires and activity on accounts for suspicious activity.

Credit analyst vs investigative analyst skills

Common credit analyst skills

Customer Service, 12%
Credit Analysis, 7%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Real Estate, 4%
Credit Risk, 4%
Strong Analytical, 4%

Common investigative analyst skills

Criminal Justice, 7%
External Stakeholders, 7%
Anti-Money Laundering, 7%
Identify Trends, 7%
Management System, 6%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 4%

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Credit Analyst vs Investigative Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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