I’ve worked in banking for over ten years, covering a variety of roles and two companies. In this article, I’ll try to use my experiences to outline how you too can break into the banking industry.

We’re talking here about banking jobs but many of the tips that I will impart on creating your resume and cover letter will be equally applicable to other sectors. Indeed, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are a huge variety of positions available within banking, from branch-based bank clerks, to head office staff specializing in marketing, personnel, litigation and purchasing, etc.

We’re all familiar with the fact that a job application usually entails the necessity to submit both a resume and an accompanying cover letter. It’s worth considering, however, why these are so important? The reality is that it’s a competitive market out there, especially at a time when global economies are facing recession. It’s therefore vital that you do something to make yourself stick out from the crowd to employers. That’s where your resume and cover letter can come into play!

A resume (sometimes referred to as a CV or Curriculum Vitae) is a document that lists your relevant qualifications and work experience. (Interestingly, the words Curriculum Vitae are Latin for course of life’). It is a vital document because (along with its accompanying cover letter) it’s the first impression that the company you’re applying to will have of you. It should be seen as being part of Brand You’. It reflects the qualities that you can bring to the advertised job and will hopefully result in you being invited to an interview where you can further pitch for the job.

In building the perfect resume, there are four main things that you should bear in mind. I will cover each of these and they are resume format, resume presentation, resume content, and tailoring your resume to the specific vacancy. I will also briefly touch upon the requirements for your cover letter.

RESUME FORMAT:

There is no one standard resume format. Having said that, there are however certain attributes that are commonly felt to be beneficial. These include:

Length of no more than three pages. Remember that employers often see hundreds of resumes and have very short attention spans. A well written one or two page resume will stand out better than a rambling five page resume!

Include a Personal Details’ section. This will typically include your name, address, date of birth, telephone number(s) and

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This is a anonymous S.A. Bearer Share Panama Corporation that is additionally licensed by the Panama Government as a financial services corporation. The license is in the name of the Corporation and your name does not appear on the license so privacy is preserved. This license allows the corporation to engage in certain financial activities in Panama. The license does not allow the entity to act as a bank, for this a bank license is required. Banks provide checking accounts, take deposits directly, make loans personal and otherwise, write mortgages etc. You can have another corporate entity contract with your Panama Financial Services Company to engage in activities in Panama that your other corporation may not be allowed to engage in due to it´s domicile jurisdiction and lack of such a license there. This can all be done via e-commerce. Remember offshore derived income is tax free in Panama.

AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES:

General Financial Consulting – In some jurisdictions this is hard to get.

Third Party Payment Processing (Online included). This is the provision that is used to allow one to operate a Swedish Credit Union in Panama through a Panama Bank.

Factoring – This allows one to operate a factoring company factoring receivables.

Leasing – This allows one to do full service leasing.

Trading of Gold, Silver and Platinum (they consider this as a buy/sell transaction). If it is wholesale it is Type A License, if it is retail is a Type B License. In this type of Retail License the Directors of the corporation have to be Panamanians and we do provide this and is included in the price. This allows one to be say an E-Gold or E-Bullion merchant.

Trading of Foreign Currency. (The first 5 days of each month this type of business must submit a declaration with client data for all transactions over $10,000 to the Financial Analysis Unit in Panama as part of their anti-money laundering program). This would allow one to operate as a money changer service.

Debit and Credit Card Management – This allows one to operate a service for third party ATM and Debit cards, processing payments to the cards etc.

NOT AUTHORIZED:

Financial Administration Services

Debt Collection – you would not be a collection agency.

Receive deposits from third party – you are not a bank.

The corporation which holds the license can engage in the above listed authorized activities. In addition the corporation can also engage in any other lawful activity that corporations in general can engage in, it is not restricted to the above activities only.

This is NOT a financial institution per se such Read More »

If you like the Wall Street Journal but have resigned yourself to reading your neighbor’s leftovers because you don’t think you can get your own at a price you can afford, think again. In fact, you can get the Wall Street Journal at a discounted rate that should fit your budget. You can also read the Wall Street Journal online; you can even read part of the Wall Street Journal for free online. Read on to find out how.

Getting a discounted rate on the Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal offers several different options depending on what you want. You can buy an online subscription, get discounts depending on who you are, and even have it delivered to home or office.

The print edition subscription

If you buy the print edition of the Wall Street Journal for a year, you’ll save the most; this is 80% off the cover price. It’ll cost you $119 year. You also get two weeks for free with this offer.

The combination print and online subscription

If you like your news online and in print, you can get both; for $155 a year, you can have the convenience of reading online whenever you want as well as the print edition at your fingertips. And with this offer, you get four weeks for free.

The weekend edition

The weekend edition is a souped-up edition of the weekly paper and includes the same intensive news coverage it always has. Beyond that, though, the weekend edition also covers fashion and lifestyle, leisure and arts, books, entertainment and culture, dining and cooking, and much more. As opposed to the weekday version, this is a bit more “family friendly,” and definitely “weekend casual.” This comes free if you pay for the online and print editions at $155 a year. And this subscription option lets you get your weekday paper delivered to your office, but your weekend edition delivered to your home, for no extra charge.

The student discount

If you’re a high school or college student, you can take advantage of the Wall Street Journal (both print and online editions) for just $19.95 for 10 weeks or $99.95 for 52 weeks. Be advised that if you want this rate, you’re going to have to verify that you are a student at the institution you have named.

If you really, really want it for free

If you really can’t afford to pay for the Wall Street Journal at all, there is a way you can read at least some of it for free. Let’s say you know there is an article you really, really want to read Read More »

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was originally founded in 1953
as an independent agency of the federal government to Aid, counsel,
assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve
free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall
economy of the United States.

Although the SBA has grown and evolved in the years since it was established
in 1953, its bottom line mission remains the same. The purpose of the
SBA is to help Americans start, build and grow businesses.

Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and
private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout
the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

The SBA is an independent agency within the federal government that operates
under the authority of the Small Business Act of 1953.

The SBA can makes loans directly to businesses and acts as a
on bank loans. In some circumstances it also makes loans to victims
of natural disasters, works to get government contracts for small businesses,
and assists businesses with management, technical and training programs,
some of which can be done on-line.

The SBA has directly or indirectly helped nearly 20 million businesses and
currently holds a portfolio of roughly 219,000 loans worth more than
$45 billion making it the largest single financial backer of businesses
in the United States.

The SBA has survived a number of threats to its existence. In 1996,
the then newly Republican-controlled House of Representatives planned to eliminate the agency.
It survived and went on to receive a record high budget in 2000.

Renewed efforts by the Bush Administration to end the SBA loan program have
met congressional resistance, although the SBA’s budget has been repeatedly
cut, and in 2004 certain expenditures were frozen.

SBA Loan Programs

The most visible elements of the administration are the loan programs it administers. The SBA itself does not grant loans. Instead, the SBA guarantees against default certain portions of business loans made by banks and other lenders that conform to its guidelines.

Contrary to popular belief, these programs are not generally for persons with
bad credit who can not get bank loans, nor are they primarily used for
startup funding. The primary use of SBA programs are to make loans
for longer repayment periods and with looser affordability requirements
than normal commercial business loans.

Also, a business can qualify for the loan even if the yearly payment would
be Read More »

REVISITING WALL STREET’S BIAS! June 20, 2008.

No matter where we are in a cycle an investor listening to Wall Street representatives on financial TV shows, or seeing their advice in financial publications, hears only that they should be buying stocks somewhere, never anything about taking profits, or heaven forbid, repositioning for the downside by selling short, or buying inverse mutual funds and etf’s.

To hear Wall Street tell it, there is no time that it’s wise to sell, no time that it’s wise to take profits. Oh sure, after a big decline has created serious losses in a sector or the overall market, Wall Street’s advice turns to talk of if the bottom might be near, whether it’s time yet to buy the tech stocks, or the financials, or the home-builders again, implying that, although you didn’t hear it from them, there certainly had been a time to sell them.

But that would be market-timing you say. And Wall Street tells us the market can’t be timed. Even after two hundred years of the most successful investors in each generation, hedge funds, corporate insiders, and mutual funds, proving otherwise, too many investors still believe it.

There are forces at work that prevent Wall Street firms from admitting how well market-timing works, even though that is the strategy they use for their own money.

To begin with, there’s no profit for Wall Street firms, only problems, if they tell investors when to sell.

Among the problems, a firm that issues a sell recommendation will reap the wrath of the corporation whose stock they advise selling. They will certainly not get their share of the company’s future investment banking business. In addition, mutual funds that own the stock will be angry, and mutual funds are far bigger customers of brokerage firms than are individual investors. When the time comes to sell a stock, or a lot of stocks, mutual funds want to quietly unload their portfolios while individual investors are still buying. Otherwise who could they sell to?

It might help investors realize the game Wall Street plays if we recall the late 1990s.

In 1997, Wall Street was pushing the Internet sector hard, which was a good move that worked until 1999, pulling investors into those stocks, with most making good paper profits. But investors were not told to take their profits in 1999. It was only investors thinking for themselves, and noticing that those who were recommending Internet stocks, including the founders who dreamed them up, the venture capitalists who financed them, and the institutions that were favored with the shares in the initial public offerings, were selling them as soon as lock-up periods ended. They were not holding them for the Read More »

The communication innovations we have around us today like the internet, financial newspapers, and special interest television channels focused on investing like CNBC are a high speed pipeline of nonsensical chatter. All these sources of information mean that there is no shortage of media people trying to answer our questions about the stock market and specific stocks. You have to remember that the news media are constantly competing to survive against other stuff you can watch. If they don’t always sound like they know exactly what is going on then you won’t watch their presentations. If you don’t tune into their show then their ratings go down. If their ratings go down they get fired and their show gets cancelled.

This means that financial journalists are in the business of finding great stories and sounding like authorities no matter what. The stock market is a great place for them to dig up news ‘scoops’ to feed to the public. They don’t really check their facts very well and sometimes not at all. This means that if some insider wants to feed you a line of bull manure then all they have to do is maintain good connections with financial journalists, sponsor an investment show, or outright buy an investing TV channel like Jack Welsh the CEO of GE did when he set up CNBC. What a great way for inside executives to control the flow of news information to the public then to actually own one of the only financial news channels…but not so great for you!

These journalists also kick up the fire by bringing in so-called ‘experts’ to talk about each side of some topic that real experts would not consider important. This just makes it all the more confusing for the public to understand what is important when buying or selling a stock. Shows on CNBC like ‘Closing Bell’, ‘Kudlow & Company’, and ‘Mad Money’ do nothing but confuse and misdirect the attention of most individual investors in the public. Even worse this means that the financial news media allows overpriced stocks to be recommended through analysts in the inside web that inside executives are dumping on the public because they are trying to get out. This actually happened at the top of the bull market in 1999. For a great historical description of what happened read Maggie Mahar’s book entitled “Bull.”

The famous Yale University Economist, Prof. Bob Shiller, Ph.D. is particularly harsh on the media in his book “Irrational Exuberance.” Dr. Shiller is one the economists that Alan Greenspan respects most and where he got the term “Irrational Exuberance.” He portrays the media as sound-bite-driven where superficial opinions are preferred over in-depth Read More »

Everybody needs finance to live happily. Finance can fulfill small and big needs easily. People work non-stop to earn income. It is important that one should stay updated with financial news all the time in order to grow more and to enhance their lifestyle. Earlier it was tough for people to keep themselves updated with financial news but with the blooming internet technology staying updated with finance news has become easier and convenient. Online financial news helps the people to upgrade their finance related knowledge in an efficient way.

The online financial news help to keep the various professionals, businessmen and even students to stay updated with the current happenings of various business and financial sectors. In order to grow in life and to make your dream come true staying upgraded with the currents trends can preferred to be the best option. With the help of online mode you can find there are various sites available, which are ready to advance your financial knowledge with a simple click of mouse.

In this fast pace of life and huge competition, staying updated with the latest trends can prove to be helpful in various ways. After liberalization and globalization the economy of the country is at the highest peak which has enhanced the business opportunities for the people. So, in order to manage these opportunities in better way, online financial news can prove to be an effective option to boost up relations with each other in terms of financial business activities.

The online financial news sites offer you the latest financial news around the world, while just sitting at the comfort from your home. You are suggested to do the research well and understand the concepts and motives behind financial news carefully. In this way only you can select the appropriate deal according to your requirements.

Online financial news educates the people with latest financial news that can help them to secure their future and expand their business accordingly. These sites enhance the knowledge of the people about financial market so that they cannot get mislead or puzzled while taking decision. These sites have solution for all financial queries of the people.

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You may have a restricted scene for your financing facility, when your credit status is not good. A lower credit score signifies your bad credit status and usually creates hurdle while vying for a loan facility. Needs are not attached with your credit condition. The needs may enforce you for an external help, when you fall short of funds. To assess your situation, bad credit auto loan financing does exactly what the dream of your vehicle can do for you.

Classified in secured and unsecured forms, financing has become further an easier task. Secured loan finance is tied to your home. It means your home works as collateral that is security for the loan. You can put some asset against the loan to prove your repayment assurance. Based on its value, amount of money is granted. You get a good amount of money at lower rates for a longer period. In fact, bad credit becomes irrelevant when you provide asset as a security for the loan. On the contrary, you can take out bad credit auto loan financing even if you do not have collateral capacity. Absence of pledging-placing draws the attention of a myriad consumer group. As a result, tenant, non-homeowners, students, all can enjoy the flavour of out loan financing in the same manner as other normal borrowers are.

A loan is all about transaction of funds. So, you will have to pay for that in due course of the loan availing. So far the bad credit auto loan financing is concerned, lenders charge you competitively. Still, there are some factors which determine the loan decision. These factors are the amount of the loan, your mode of the loan selection, repayment duration, employment-ability, you current condition etc. based on these factors, rate of interest is incurred upon the provisions. However, you can shop around for the best possible deal also.

For all that, there are numerous lending options available in the money market. You can serf them online also. A quarter of loan sites are working in the same frequency. What all that you need to do is to fill in a simple online application for the bad credit auto loan financing. The loan application will be reviewed by your lender. And in the next few hours, loan amount is to be released. You get the required fund to buy the auto you wish.

Financial Services is a term used to refer to the services provided by the finance market. Financial Services is also the term used to describe organizations that deal with the management of money. Examples are the Banks, investment banks, insurance companies, credit card companies and stock brokerages.

These are the types of firms comprising the market, that provide a variety of money and investment related services. Financial services are the largest market resource within the world, in terms of earnings.

Defining Financial Services can also be termed as, any service or product of a financial nature that is the area under discussion to, or is governed by a measure maintained by a Party or by a public body that exercises regulatory or supervisory authority delegated by law.

Understanding Financial Services

Financial Services are generally not limited to the field of deposit-taking, loan and investment services, but is also present in the fields of insurance, estate, trust and agency services, securities, and all forms of financial or market intermediation including the distribution of financial products.

Aligned with a background of sharp risk, market and regulatory pressures, Financial Services organizations are striving to grow and enhance their shareholder values.

Day by day the customer needs and expectations are growing. Thus, making the mark in increasing personal wealth, a mature population and the desire that can more easily be reached to the personalized financial products and services. Intense competition has squeezed market margins and forced most companies to cut costs while enhancing the quality of customer choice and service.

As Financial Services organizations strive to become more innovative and entrepreneurial, the war for talent is intensifying. The risks increase as the products become more complex, the organizations and the business environment ever more uncertain.

At the same time, regulation is the tightening highlight within the reach of public and government pressure for improved supremacy, transparency and accountability.

In this environment, the winners will be companies that can turn the challenges into opportunities to build stronger and more enduring customer relationships, sharpen their process efficiency, unlock talent and creativity, use improved risk management processes to deliver more sustainable returns and use used regulatory demands as a catalyst for strengthening the business and enhancing market confidence.

The fast pace of change aspect element within the global Financial Services market has created the need for a new generation of solutions that can operate in real time with a very flawless reliability.

The challenges faced by the Financial Services market are forcing market participants to keep pace with technological advances, and to become more proactive and efficient while keeping in mind to reduce costs and risks.

The Financial Services have been able to represent an increasingly significant financial driver, and a significant consumer Read More »

A financial normal distribution is a statistical term used to describe how particular population sample characteristics or event(s) results are placed in relation to each other. The “normal distribution is used to help predict and adjust for a wide range of financial goals by optimizing financial decision-making by applying and graphically mapping financial data into a distribution set of variables.

In other words, data such as prices can be plotted on a “normal distribution graph with dots. The dots are then connected with a line that reveals the data’s distribution in terms of two axis continuums known as the X and Y axis on a graph. An example of a normal distribution is the amount of money spent on obtaining the calories consumed by individuals over time. If the X axis represents calories consumed, and the Y axis represents cost per calorie, the data set will produce a statistical and graphical distribution when plotted on graph.

This article will illustrate how the normal distribution is used in finance in addition to providing tips and techniques for applying the normal distribution to financial practices such as investing. It is important to note the normal distribution is not the only type of statistical distribution, and thus the mathematical benefits arising from use of normal distributions in finance may not be realized for non-normally distributed data.

HOW THE NORMAL DISTRUBTION IS USED IN FINANCE:

The normal distribution is used to make quantitative and qualitative financial decisions based on the mathematical nature of normal distributions. This is to say, normal distributions tend to follow certain similarities such as conglomeration of distribution toward the mean among other things such as standard deviation from the mean. Due to this and other trends, numerical forecasting is more justified by the statistical patterns underlying the data. Thus, determining if certain financial events are normally distributed can be useful because those events may be more likely to follow probabilistic patterns in the future.

To illustrate further, the normal distribution helps financial analysts and/or investors make better financial decisions based on the statistical information provided by the normal distribution. Using the example above, if a sample of 20,000 people reveals that the average daily calorie consumption of Americans is 2100

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