Retail Banking Formal Report Writing

---
name: retail-banking-formal-report-writing
description: |
  Write formal reports as a retail banking adviser that stand up to scrutiny from any reader.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a retail banking adviser needs a formal report writing for personal banking customers in bank branches and contact centres.
category: Retail Banking
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Formal Report Writing — Retail Banking

Write formal reports as a retail banking adviser that stand up to scrutiny from any reader. The deliverable is a report template with structure, evidence standards and review steps.
This skill is written for a retail banking adviser working with personal banking customers in bank branches and contact centres.

## When to use
- You are a retail banking adviser preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in bank branches and contact centres.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces a report template with structure, evidence standards and review steps.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| KYC | know your customer identity and risk checks |
| Overdraft | an agreed facility to spend beyond an account balance |
| Vulnerable customer | a customer needing extra care due to their circumstances |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Establish the report's purpose, audience and deadline before writing; gather source material from customer records
2. **Step 2** - Structure: summary, background, method, findings, analysis, recommendations — in that order
3. **Step 3** - Write findings factually and separately from opinion; label professional judgement as judgement
4. **Step 4** - Support key points with evidence and with customer satisfaction where outcomes are claimed; acknowledge limitations openly
5. **Step 5** - Proofread for accuracy and tone, check names, dates and figures twice, and consider mis-selling risks before release

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Retail Banking |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | customer records; account applications; complaint logs; lending assessments |
| Core tools & equipment | core banking systems; CRM platforms; digital banking tools; verification systems |
| People involved | personal banking customers; the retail banking adviser; colleagues and other services in bank branches and contact centres |
| Primary record | customer records — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in bank branches and contact centres] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [personal banking customers and other stakeholders]

The finished output is a report template with structure, evidence standards and review steps, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in customer records.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against customer satisfaction.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in bank branches and contact centres.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| customer satisfaction | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from customer records and reviewed on a set cycle |
| account opening times | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from customer records and reviewed on a set cycle |
| complaint rates | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from customer records and reviewed on a set cycle |
| product suitability checks | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from customer records and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: mis-selling risks.
- Never let this happen: fraud missed.
- Never let this happen: vulnerable customers unrecognised.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a retail banking adviser; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to bank branches and contact centres's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A retail banking adviser in bank branches and contact centres applies this workflow for personal banking customers: they open
customer records, work through the five steps using core banking systems, and close by recording
the outcome against customer satisfaction and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)