Financial Examiners

Summary

Financial examiners review balance sheets, evaluate the risk level of loans, and assess bank management.

Quick Facts: Financial Examiners
2010 Median Pay	$74,940 per year $36.03 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Bachelor’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	29,300
Job Outlook, 2010-20	27% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	7,900

What Financial Examiners Do

Financial examiners ensure compliance with laws governing financial institutions and transactions. They review balance sheets, evaluate the risk level of loans, and assess bank management.

Work Environment

Most financial examiners worked for the finance and insurance industry, the federal government, or state governments. Most financial examiners worked full time in 2010.

How to Become a Financial Examiner

Financial examiners typically need a bachelor’s degree that includes some coursework in accounting. Entry-level examiners are trained on the job by senior examiners.

Pay

The median annual wage of financial examiners was $74,940 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of financial examiners is projected to grow 27 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. New regulations will likely create a need for more examiners.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of financial examiners with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about financial examiners by contacting these additional resources.

What Financial Examiners Do About this section

Financial examiners working in consumer compliance monitor lending activity to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly.

Financial examiners ensure compliance with laws governing financial institutions and transactions. They review balance sheets, evaluate the risk level of loans, and assess bank management.

Duties

Financial examiners typically do the following:

• Monitor the financial condition of banks and other financial institutions
• Review balance sheets, operating income and expense accounts, and loan documentation to confirm institution assets and liabilities
• Prepare reports that detail an institution’s safety and soundness
• Examine the minutes of meetings of managers and directors
• Recommend solutions to questionable financial conditions
• Train other examiners in the financial examination process
• Review and analyze new regulations and policies to determine their impact on the organization
• Establish guidelines for procedures and policies that comply with new and revised regulations

Financial examiners typically work in one of two main areas: risk scoping or consumer compliance.

Those working in risk scoping evaluate the health of financial institutions. Their role is to ensure that banks and other financial institutions offer safe loans and that they have enough cash on hand to handle unexpected losses. These procedures help ensure that the financial system as a whole remains stable. These examiners also evaluate the performance of bank managers.

Financial examiners working in consumer compliance monitor lending activity to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly. They ensure that banks extend loans that borrowers are likely to be able to pay back. They help borrowers avoid “predatory loans”—loans that may generate profit for banks through high interest payments but may be costly to borrowers and damage their credit scores. Examiners also ensure that banks do not discriminate against borrowers based on ethnicity or other characteristics.

Work Environment About this section

The majority of financial examiners worked full time in 2010.

Financial examiners typically work in offices. They occasionally may have to travel to inspect a bank onsite.

Financial examiners held 29,300 jobs in 2010. The following industries employed the most financial examiners in 2010:

Work Schedules

Most financial examiners worked full time in 2010.

How to Become a Financial Examiner About this section

Examiners working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) must have at least six semester hours in accounting.

Financial examiners typically must have a bachelor’s degree that includes some coursework in accounting. Entry-level examiners are trained on the job by senior examiners.

Education

Specific requirements for financial examiners vary between federal and state governments. However, all financial examiners typically need a bachelor’s degree that includes some coursework in accounting, finance, economics, or a related field. Examiners working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) must have at least six semester hours in accounting.

Training

Once hired, financial examiners receive some on-the-job training. Entry-level workers begin under the supervision of senior examiners and learn their basic job duties and the agency’s policies and procedures. This period typically takes between 1 month and 1 year.

Advancement

After a few years of experience, financial examiners can advance to a senior examiner position. Requirements for these positions vary by employer but often require a master’s degree in accounting or business or becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Financial examiners need strong analytical skills to evaluate how well bank managers are handling risk and whether the bank’s individual loans are safe.

Detail oriented. Financial examiners must pay close attention to details when reviewing a bank’s balance sheet to identify risky assets.

Math skills. Financial examiners need good basic math skills to monitor a bank’s balance sheet and see if the bank’s available cash is dangerously low.

Writing skills. Financial examiners regularly write reports on the safety and soundness of financial institutions. They must be able to explain technical information clearly.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of financial examiners was $74,940 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,170, and the top 10 percent earned more than $134,820.

Most financial examiners worked full time in 2010.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of financial examiners is projected to grow 27 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Implementation of new financial regulations is expected to create a need for more examiners.

For example, some large financial institutions that were not previously subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regulation have now been placed under that agency’s supervision. More examiners will be needed to monitor these institutions’ available cash levels and risky trading activity.

In addition, the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will require more financial examiners working on consumer compliance. This agency’s mission is to provide more oversight to the mortgage-lending process and prevent the types of abuses that contributed to the recent subprime crisis and housing crash.

However, hiring increases will be restricted by overall decreases in federal government spending and employment. Overall employment in the federal government is expected to decline, but employment of financial examiners in the federal government is expected to grow.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about financial examiners, visit

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation