p.s.  Any bank should show their grid to a prospective rep, am I not right??

I would be concerned if they wouldn’t show you their commission structure.

If they don't show you the grid, run.

Is the 30k forgivable or non?

The 30K is forgiveable.

They tell me they would start at 60K annualized for 2 mos, then drop to the 30K (???) which seems outlandish to me.

That if I did 9K gross and the "base" was 5k, I would get the 8K.  If I did 2K gross, I would get the 5K.

They also told me the grid was a sliding scale.  Is this usual?  Is it not a fixed %?  They told me also it was NET after transaction fees.  Ex:  Gross minus transaction fees = Gross to Broker, paid at grid.

Please tell me, since I am not from the banking world, what a USUAL salary and GRID is.  Is this reasonable for salary?  What should I expect for grid????

p.s.  A friend of mine from the banking world told me not to accept a salary less than 4K/mos, and 32% grid.  Is this considered the “standard” payout at good banks???

I have a salary of $1200/mo, plus (not or) commission paid out at a grid starting at 30% and going up 2.5% every $10,000 in gross up to 40% ($50,000 gross). 

However, I also get 44.5 cents per mile reimbursement, cell phone and laptop paid by bank, credit card expense account (I use this within reason of course), health insurance paid by bank 100% (this would change if I was married), and bank/wholesalers pay for any marketing seminars I do.

If you are worried about a salary of 4K/mo, then honestly, you should re-evaluate your expectations for this business.  Not trying to insult you, just the facts.

[quote=BankFC]I have a salary of $1200/mo, plus (not or) commission paid out at a grid starting at 30% and going up 2.5% every $10,000 in gross up to 40% ($50,000 gross). 

However, I also get 44.5 cents per mile reimbursement, cell phone and laptop paid by bank, credit card expense account (I use this within reason of course), health insurance paid by bank 100% (this would change if I was married), and bank/wholesalers pay for any marketing seminars I do.

If you are worried about a salary of 4K/mo, then honestly, you should re-evaluate your expectations for this business.  Not trying to insult you, just the facts.
[/quote]

Why don't you do one seminar every single day?

[quote=BankFC]I have a salary of $1200/mo, plus (not or) commission paid out at a grid starting at 30% and going up 2.5% every $10,000 in gross up to 40% ($50,000 gross). 

However, I also get 44.5 cents per mile reimbursement, cell phone and laptop paid by bank, credit card expense account (I use this within reason of course), health insurance paid by bank 100% (this would change if I was married), and bank/wholesalers pay for any marketing seminars I do.

If you are worried about a salary of 4K/mo, then honestly, you should re-evaluate your expectations for this business.  Not trying to insult you, just the facts.

Why don't you do one seminar every single day?

[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=My Inner Child]

[quote=BankFC]I have a salary of $1200/mo, plus (not or) commission paid out at a grid starting at 30% and going up 2.5% every $10,000 in gross up to 40% ($50,000 gross). 

However, I also get 44.5 cents per mile reimbursement, cell phone and laptop paid by bank, credit card expense account (I use this within reason of course), health insurance paid by bank 100% (this would change if I was married), and bank/wholesalers pay for any marketing seminars I do.

If you are worried about a salary of 4K/mo, then honestly, you should re-evaluate your expectations for this business.  Not trying to insult you, just the facts.
[/quote]

Why don't you do one seminar every single day?

[/quote]

Give the poor guy a break...he has to get to 50k gross in a month just to get a 40% payout....
[/quote]

50K should be a slam dunk if the bank pays for all of his seminars.

Mine was $1,500/month plus 25%/30%/35%/40%...stepped up every 10K.  I understand that the grid improved after almost half of us left.  I think my old bank went to paying everything at the highest level reached, but that's only what I was told.

Banks will generally pay les than bokerages/wirehouses, but your prospecting will be considerably simpler.  Just beware...many programs are controlled by greedy bankers who don't have a good understanding of broker programs.  If you're lucky, you'll work with a nice banker that leaves you alone.

[quote=newrookie]p.s.  Any bank should show their grid to a prospective rep, am I not right??[/quote]

If they aren’t going to show you specifics about the grid, that’s a very bad sign.  Then again, if you’re looking to simply get started in the business, you get can your feet wet and learn, presuming that the terms of the contract(specifically the length) are at least reasonable.

I'm not "worried" about the 30K base salary, simply trying to understand how banks work in terms of compensation and other.

It seems the comp systems are all over the map - who determines the grid - the B/D or the bank?

For those of you now working in banks, what was your 2005 year end production (bank's gross) and what was YOUR gross?

Do most banks pick up the marketing expenses, or is that the rep's responsibility?

What would you list as the pros/cons of the bank environment?

Newrook,

Generally if you are in a smaller bank program that uses an outside b/d you negotiate with the bank on payout and salary side. The b/d will normally take 10-20 off the top and you and the bank split the rest. At my previous employer the b/d took 20%, I took 36% and the bank took 44%. In 2004 the program did 110k, I got there Aug 2005 and we were on pace to do 290k this year (Bank makes 127k, I made about 90k and b/d made 58k). That 127k meant nothing to them on the bottom line so I wasn't a priority and have since left.

Bottom line, they will promise you the world but in the end they could care less if you make it or not because @ best you are 5-10% of the bottom line. Get them to give you a better salary because you will be @ their mercy for referrals. Hope this helps.

[quote=newrookie]

I'm not "worried" about the 30K base salary, simply trying to understand how banks work in terms of compensation and other.

It seems the comp systems are all over the map - who determines the grid - the B/D or the bank?  The bank

For those of you now working in banks, what was your 2005 year end production (bank's gross) and what was YOUR gross?  I left in August 2005, but in 2004, it was 132K for me and 370K bank gross.

Do most banks pick up the marketing expenses, or is that the rep's responsibility?  The bank pays...either with a marketing budget or with their own inneffective marketing program (more likely).

What would you list as the pros/cons of the bank environment?  Pros:  warm referrals  Cons:  Stupid, greedy bankers

Lol, I'll take a 40% payout all day long if it is attached to the type and amount of referrals I get currently.

Just this morning I have already recieved 3 referrals, 1 for 200K (nq), one for 90K(qual), and the other is a rollover that I forgot to ask the amount.

Thanks fellas.