4 ms·

Banks have been doing this for decades. If you're not a VP within 3 months some may wonder if something is wrong with you.

m348e912 4y ago
My coworkers and I used to joke that at banks, even cleaning staff get VP titles.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Banks hand out VP titles like candy so that the customers think they're hot stuff and being treated well.
  - nowherebeen 4y ago
    People outside the finance industry really buy it too. I think it's because in most companies, VPs are above director. Only in finance, is it below.
    - Hermitian909 4y ago
      > I think it's because in most companies, VPs are above director. Every now and again someone whose spent a career exclusively in finance gets bitten by this when transitioning into the business world. A friend once told me a story about a deal with Amazon nearly getting tanked when I coworker chewed out an Amazon VP, saying they wanted to "talk to someone who could make decisions". Took a lot of massaging to salvage that deal.
      - throwanem 4y ago
        That must've been a fun wall to be a fly on.
      - watwut 4y ago
        Enjoyable to imagine this. The ex finance people I work with are quite toxic towards those lower on hierarchy. Cool to hear about someone being bitten by it for once.
  - A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
    Ahh, but those are not real VPs. Those are likely all AVPs ( less power, less money ) and not VPs or SVPs. Naturally, all the customer sees is a vice-president, but for HR purposes they are 'only' AVPs. I kinda hate it, because I have ridiculous title for HR purposes now myself and I am 'just' IC in real life. edit: added quotation marks to just. I like being an IC.
    - jrockway 4y ago
      I think it depends on the bank. I worked at Bank of America and random mid-career programmers were legitimately VPs. Officer -> AVP -> VP -> Director was the title progression at the time.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    Can confirm: I made VP at Merrill Lynch at 28 I think. It was complete BS; my resume literally says "Vice President (I have no idea why we were all VPs either)"
  - wonderwonder 4y ago
    I recently started working in finance at a F500 company and the number of vice presidents is astounding. People doing data entry are vice presidents. What's really interesting is there are 5 - 10 CIOs as well
yttribium 4y ago
"VP" title is a regulatory requirement because only "bank officers" have legal authority to do certain actions.
chollida1 4y ago
Banks doing this is for a completely different reason. Banks aren't trying to stiff their traders out of overtime. They do it because a VP has certain signing power as an executive that regular employees don't. have been through this many times and very HR department on the sell and buy side says the same thing.
AlbertCory 4y ago
Some of the answers excuse this as "only a VP has signing authority." That probably accounts for some of the VP titles. I kinda doubt that all the VPs in your average BofA office are always signing things, and couldn't possibly just go to their boss for a signature, like normal people do.
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  I was under the impression it was partially a client relations thing; "Oh, I'm talking to a vice president of the bank! I must be important!"
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    Right. Part of the ego boost of the title.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
lifefeed 4y ago
My time working at Bank of America was strange because of this. Everyone's title was either Analyst or VP.
geraldwhen 4y ago
It’s just pay bands and it’s different per company. At some financial institutions, everyone is a VP, except maybe the call center and retail associates.

m348e912 4y ago

My coworkers and I used to joke that at banks, even cleaning staff get VP titles.

bombcar 4y ago
Banks hand out VP titles like candy so that the customers think they're hot stuff and being treated well.
- nowherebeen 4y ago
  People outside the finance industry really buy it too. I think it's because in most companies, VPs are above director. Only in finance, is it below.
  - Hermitian909 4y ago
    > I think it's because in most companies, VPs are above director. Every now and again someone whose spent a career exclusively in finance gets bitten by this when transitioning into the business world. A friend once told me a story about a deal with Amazon nearly getting tanked when I coworker chewed out an Amazon VP, saying they wanted to "talk to someone who could make decisions". Took a lot of massaging to salvage that deal.
    - throwanem 4y ago
      That must've been a fun wall to be a fly on.
    - watwut 4y ago
      Enjoyable to imagine this. The ex finance people I work with are quite toxic towards those lower on hierarchy. Cool to hear about someone being bitten by it for once.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
  Ahh, but those are not real VPs. Those are likely all AVPs ( less power, less money ) and not VPs or SVPs. Naturally, all the customer sees is a vice-president, but for HR purposes they are 'only' AVPs. I kinda hate it, because I have ridiculous title for HR purposes now myself and I am 'just' IC in real life. edit: added quotation marks to just. I like being an IC.
  - jrockway 4y ago
    I think it depends on the bank. I worked at Bank of America and random mid-career programmers were legitimately VPs. Officer -> AVP -> VP -> Director was the title progression at the time.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  Can confirm: I made VP at Merrill Lynch at 28 I think. It was complete BS; my resume literally says "Vice President (I have no idea why we were all VPs either)"
- wonderwonder 4y ago
  I recently started working in finance at a F500 company and the number of vice presidents is astounding. People doing data entry are vice presidents. What's really interesting is there are 5 - 10 CIOs as well

yttribium 4y ago

"VP" title is a regulatory requirement because only "bank officers" have legal authority to do certain actions.

chollida1 4y ago

Banks doing this is for a completely different reason. Banks aren't trying to stiff their traders out of overtime. They do it because a VP has certain signing power as an executive that regular employees don't. have been through this many times and very HR department on the sell and buy side says the same thing.

AlbertCory 4y ago

Some of the answers excuse this as "only a VP has signing authority." That probably accounts for some of the VP titles. I kinda doubt that all the VPs in your average BofA office are always signing things, and couldn't possibly just go to their boss for a signature, like normal people do.

ceejayoz 4y ago
I was under the impression it was partially a client relations thing; "Oh, I'm talking to a vice president of the bank! I must be important!"
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  Right. Part of the ego boost of the title.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

lifefeed 4y ago

My time working at Bank of America was strange because of this. Everyone's title was either Analyst or VP.

geraldwhen 4y ago

It’s just pay bands and it’s different per company. At some financial institutions, everyone is a VP, except maybe the call center and retail associates.