Definition of terms for front-, middle- and back-office. What is the work in the back office of the bank?

"All professions are needed, all professions are important" - we all know it from childhood. The fact is that everything in the modern world is interconnected, therefore many terms of foreign origin appeared, the meaning of which is unknown to the majority of citizens. Realtors, image-makers, copywriters, surveyors - so at once you can not tell what exactly these people are doing. The same can be said about the specialists of back-front offices. Who are they, where do they work, what is their direct responsibility?

The definition of the front office of a financial institution

This term is called a group of units in organizations responsible for working with customers or customers. The specialists of the front office are on the front line, this is the face of the company. From their professionalism, competence, affability depends the success of the entire institution. In the banking sector, such employees are engaged in processing applications for opening a deposit or obtaining a loan, advising on any issues, distributing bank products, etc. That is, specialists constantly accompany the client from the moment he arrives at the bank's office and before the deal is concluded.

What is a back office?

This is an operational and accounting unit that deals with the provision of work for the departments that manage the company's assets and liabilities. The back office is a gray cardinal. Clients and customers can not evaluate the work of its specialists, although they invest a lot of energy in the prosperity of the business. Such units are in banks, investment companies, organizations that carry out transactions on the securities markets. They work from 3 to 15 people, the number of employees depends on the size of the institution.

Work in the back office of the bank involves preparing management reports, performing settlements on securities and funds on transactions concluded by the front office. Also, its employees are involved in monitoring compliance with limits, maintaining an internal report, providing information for accounting. The back office specialist works only with contractors, he does not cooperate with clients.

What does the middle office do?

This unit can be called a link between the front and back offices. Its functions are rather blurred. Specialists of banks are mainly engaged in drafting and signing contracts, providing customers with various types of reports, accepting orders for the withdrawal of funds, purchase and sale, etc. Also, the middle office is responsible for coordinating standard forms and regulatory documents with other divisions, developing methodologies New operations. His specialists in most cases work on the instructions of the foremost workers.

What are the responsibilities of the back office specialists?

Employees of financial institutions must execute securities purchase and sale agreements, maintain a transaction log. The specialist monitors the re-registration of securities, as the transfer of ownership to the buyer from the seller must be effected. The back office executes this procedure on the basis of the transfer order contained in the register of the holder of securities.

The new owner must receive all the necessary documents, and the specialist, in turn, controls the settlement process between the seller and the buyer. The back office employee has a huge responsibility, because the slightest mistake, seemingly insignificant at first glance, may lead to large-scale problems. In the worst case, the company incurs significant losses due to the recognition of the transaction as invalid.

Comparison of front and back offices

These two units are opposite to each other. The front office is working with clients, the face of the company. Experts are always in sight, the future of the organization depends on their professionalism and resourcefulness. Back-office - this is work in the shade. The employees of the unit do not know everything in person, but they are like worker bees shoveling many important things. All specialists work for the benefit of the company, but it is still important to draw a line between the different divisions, so as not to shift the duties of some to the shoulders of others.

Front-office and back-office have different functions. The first one is working on increasing the speed of customer service, maintaining the reliability of the information received, and promptly registering sales. The second is focused on the analysis of sales, the preparation of the card index of goods with prices, the pricing system, the control of the movement of products in warehouses.

Separation of units can occur both at the software and at the hardware level. There is no clear boundary between them, it is just a system of concepts. The separation of back- and front-offices is necessary at the psychological level. The head of the company should understand that in the first subsystem more professional and experienced specialists are required to work, rather than in the second, because they are entrusted with greater responsibility and more difficult to work with.