Last week I reported that our latest contest found readers of two minds about whether a young man without "fire in the belly" should stay in banking.
Some said "stay"; some said "leave," agreeing with me. And some had more detailed suggestions.
Several readers also disagreed with my advice about getting an MBA. My advice was not to; for this young man, it probably wouldn't be worthwhile.
Martin Feuer of Williston Park, N.Y., suggested that he look into joining a regulatory agency, to gain experience:" "'Banks of all shapes and sizes are under increasing scrutiny by regulators," Mr. Feuer observed. "A banker with banking and bank regulatory experience is regarded as an important member of a bank's management team."
Mr. Feuer also agreed with my suggestion that the young banker seek a financial position in a small business - after getting more experience in banking.
"The more time he spends at a bank, assuming he is effective," the likelier that he will come to the attention of a small company's management and be offered a position, Mr. Feuer advised.
David Lang of Opt Co., New York, offers specific suggestions on what our young man should do to improve his skills, particularly as they relate to technological changes in the business.
"The traditional credit officer skill set will not be sufficient to adapt to the emerging financial marketplace," Mr. Lang wrote. "
Above all, he will need to be comfortable with technology."
Technology, Mr. Lang argues, will magnify the impact of solid talent, not replace it. But our young banker needs to be able to adapt, even consider tailoring his career goals to branchless banking and working in an operations center connected to the customer through "multimode communications links."
"The young many may be less enamored of relinquishing a platform seat for an hourly wage," he added. "The position may lack the stature of the past - but even doctors are complaining about a lack of respect! And the hours are more flexible."
Russell Brewer of Compass Bank, Birmingham, Ala., added further useful advice. He said the young man should be comfortable pursuing various careers in banking that technology is making possible.
"You are certainly more valuable with diverse financial skills," he said. " Don't limit yourself; explore new directions and take advantage of opportunities."
Our winner, though, is a man who wraps all this up.
Leon T. Kendall, retired chairman of MGIC, former chief economist of the New York Stock Exchange and the U.S. Savings and Loan League, is now a professor at Northwestern University.
His response is a beautiful summary of what all young people (and older ones, too) should keep in mind:
"Paul, the problem you and I have is that we are institutionalists. We think of finance in terms of banks, savings and loans, insurance companies, and credit unions. And you are making the mistake of squeezing this nice young man into one of your institutional boxes. You are concerned that if institutional banking atrophies, he fails.
"Convert this young man to your ancient doctrine and he will believe that he rises and falls with the institution. You have doomed him, psychologically at least, to a short career.
"This is all unnecessary. His life skill is not institutional.
"Your young man is developing a functional skill that will serve him in good stead as a lifetime career. That skill is credit analysis, with a current subset of small-business enterprise finance. This financial discipline will be in demand for years to come.
"The institutional employer of the skill, however, is less certain. He may sell his skills to clients through a bank, a securities firm bundling for sale to mutual funds, through a finance company, through a rating agency, through a state development loan agency, or through his own specialized credit analysis agency which serves banks as an efficient outsourced entity.
"He seems to have found his specialized niche. I would tell him to develop his analytic skills, his computer skills, his understanding of human nature. Go to trade associations seminars, Robert Morris meetings, and read everything he can on credit and then push further.
His personal financial security will be in the quality of the functional skills he develops, not his employer. This is an exciting time for a young man. His destiny is in his own hands."
Mr. Nadler is a contributing editor of the American Banker and professor of finance at Rutgers University Graduate School of Management.
