Banking Rotation

About

Parkside is a commercial bank, meaning they do business with companies to assist in the business’s success. The credit department works in teams made up of lenders, analysts, coordinators, and loan administrators. Parkside lends to privately-held businesses, commercial real estate investors, manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses. They work with companies all over the country out of their two offices located in Clayton, MO and Denver, CO.

Connections

Parkside strives to make meaningful relationships with their clients and many clients have been with Parkside for years due to the relationships created. Parkside clients have access to senior management, allowing them to never feel distant. Bank clients often work with the Trust and Family Office for their personal investments as well, due to the great experience they have through their business.

Exposure

In our banking rotation we were able to see first-hand how commercial banking works and the processes each loan goes through.  With Parkside being a commercial bank, we learned about several different companies they do business with.  Our rotation began with reading a few interesting articles to help us understand some of the basic terminology used in commercial banking.  We were also given a brief overview of the different teams and positions, as well as the basics of their responsibilities. We then dove in to creating and updating financial spreadsheets which gave us the opportunity to apply our knowledge learned in our accounting and finance courses to a real life setting.  With the help of our mentors, we used the information from the spreadsheets to walk through the process of completing a loan write-up.  Along with the write-up, we sat down with the lender on the loan and learned about the background of the company and the updates being implemented.  Throughout our rotation we also got the opportunity to work on projects for some of the lenders and analysts and sit in on a few calls, allowing us to see a little deeper into the workings of their day-to-day lives.  Once a week we were able to sit in on Loan Committee, which was a great opportunity to see more of the inner workings a loan must go through.  Loan Committee gave us the chance to see lenders and analysts discuss the pros and cons of approving each loan. It was interesting to hear the interactions and conversation within the group.  This rotation was a perfect way for us to learn more about what commercial banking is and the various roles that are required for the process to be successful.