Interview guide for banking roles: a loop for tellers, personal bankers, lenders and branch managers

Bank employees hold other people's money and information all day. A teller who misses a customer structuring cash, a personal banker who opens accounts a customer did not ask for, or a lender who rounds up income to make a deal work can each create losses, regulatory findings and headlines. Banks also hire under a federal background rule that most employers never meet. A good loop handles that rule in the right order and tests judgment where it matters: suspicious activity, honest sales and accurate credit work.

This guide covers tellers, personal and universal bankers, consumer and small business lenders, credit analysts and branch managers at insured banks and savings institutions. The teller first call is in bank teller screening questions, and mortgage lenders in mortgage loan officer screening questions. Corporate finance and accounting roles are in the interview guide for finance roles, and BSA/AML and other compliance staff in the interview guide for compliance roles.

The loop at a glance

Stage 1: the screen (20 minutes)

• "This role is at [example: two branches, including Saturday mornings]. Does that work?"
• "Here is how incentive pay works for this role: [describe]. Any questions?" Explain incentives honestly and early; they shape behavior.
• "Are you registered with NMLS or FINRA, or have you been?" Ask only for roles that need it. Registration history is public through NMLS Consumer Access and FINRA BrokerCheck.

Stage 2: structured interview (35 minutes)

1. "Tell me about a time you were under pressure to meet a sales or referral goal. How did you handle a customer who did not need the product?" Listen for: putting the customer's need first and saying so to the manager.
2. "Describe a time your cash drawer or a transaction did not balance. What did you do?" Listen for: reporting immediately, following procedure and finding the cause, never covering a difference.
3. "Tell me about a customer you suspected was being scammed. What did you do?" Listen for: slowing down, asking questions, involving a supervisor and following elder financial exploitation procedures.
4. "A longtime customer asks you to skip an ID check because you know them. What do you say?" Listen for: a friendly but firm no.
5. "Tell me about a mistake you made with customer information." Listen for: honest reporting and what changed.

Stage 3: the red-flag transaction scenario (15 minutes)

Read a short scenario. Example: a customer deposits $9,500 in cash on Monday and $9,000 on Wednesday, then asks the teller what amount "avoids the paperwork". Another customer, elderly, wants to wire most of their savings to a new online friend overseas and is in a hurry.

What to score

• Recognition: sees the pattern of deposits just under a reporting threshold and the question about avoiding paperwork, and the signs of a romance scam.
• Escalation: follows the bank's process to refer unusual activity to the BSA team and involves a supervisor on the wire.
• Confidentiality: does not tell the customer that a suspicious activity report might be filed. Under 31 CFR 1020.320(e), a SAR and any information that would reveal its existence are confidential, and bank employees may not disclose them except as the rule allows.
• Customer care: treats both customers respectfully and does not accuse them.

Tell candidates they do not need to know your bank's forms. Score judgment and escalation. Telling the first customer how to stay under a threshold is an automatic fail.

Stage 4: customer needs role-play or credit memo review (25 minutes)

Personal bankers and branch roles: needs role-play

A staff member plays a customer who came in to deposit a check and mentions a new baby, a car loan at another bank and overdraft fees last month. Score whether the candidate asks questions before recommending, explains fees and terms plainly, recommends only what fits and gets consent clearly. Opening or promising a product the customer did not agree to is an automatic fail.

Lenders and credit analysts: credit memo review

Give a two-page example memo for a small business line of credit with tax returns summarized, a debt service coverage calculation with one error, and a guarantor whose personal statement does not match the credit report. Ask what they would question before approving. Score finding the calculation error, the inconsistency and the missing information, and recommending conditions rather than a quick yes or no.

Scorecard competencies and weights

Example weights for a universal banker. Lock yours before the first candidate.

For lenders, replace the role-play weight with the credit memo review.

Legal points to check

Checked against the linked primary sources as of October 2026. Not legal advice; your regulator, compliance team and counsel decide.

• Section 19. 12 U.S.C. 1829(a) bars a person convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering, or who agreed to a pretrial diversion or similar program for such an offense, from becoming or continuing as an institution-affiliated party or otherwise participating in the conduct of an insured depository institution's affairs without the FDIC's prior written consent; the bank may not permit it. Subsection (b) sets a fine of up to $1,000,000 per day, up to five years in prison, or both, for knowing violations.
• Exceptions added in 2022. Section 1829(c) now excludes, among other things, offenses committed seven or more years earlier (or five years after release for people who were incarcerated), with special timing for offenses committed at age 21 or younger, and convictions that were expunged or sealed. These timing exceptions do not apply to the serious offenses listed in subsection (a)(2). The FDIC's definitions are in 12 CFR 303.222 and 303.223.
• Timing of offers. 12 CFR 303.220(b) requires a reasonable, documented inquiry into an applicant's history and allows FDIC-supervised banks to make a conditional offer, but the applicant may not work or participate in the bank's affairs until the bank determines the person is not prohibited.
• Mortgage loan originators. Under 12 CFR 1007.103, bank employees who act as residential mortgage loan originators must register with the NMLS registry and obtain a unique identifier before acting as originators.
• Bank broker-dealer staff. If the person will also register with a FINRA member broker-dealer, FINRA Rule 3110(e) requires the member to ascertain the applicant's good character, business reputation, qualifications and experience and to verify Form U4 information, including a search of reasonably available public records.
• Credit and background checks. When a consumer reporting agency runs the check, 15 U.S.C. 1681b(b) requires a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization and pre-adverse action notice. Some states limit credit checks in hiring, often with exceptions for financial institutions; see credit check laws for employers.

The decision rule

1. Floor: never tips off a customer about a report and never pushes an unneeded product in the role-play.
2. Weighted total: in this example, 2.8 or higher on a 1–4 scale is a conditional offer.
3. Gate before day one: documented Section 19 inquiry complete, and NMLS or FINRA registration where the role needs it.

Mistakes that weaken banking loops

• Letting new hires start while checks are pending. The FDIC's rule says no participation until the determination is made.
• Scoring sales enthusiasm. Score fit-for-need recommendations instead.
• Treating every record as disqualifying. Section 19 covers specific offenses and has exceptions; apply it precisely.
• Skipping the scam scenario. Front-line staff are often the last protection for older customers.