Relationship Manager Interview Questions | Banking

Introduction

Hiring the right Relationship Manager in banking is critical for client retention, revenue growth, and regulatory compliance. A skilled RM builds trusted client relationships while managing credit, risk, and cross-sell opportunities.

This guide provides role-specific Relationship Manager interview questions for basic, intermediate, and advanced screening. It also includes pre-screening one-way video interview questions ideal for ScreeningHive to standardize and accelerate early-stage selection.

Relationship Manager Interview Questions

Basic Relationship Manager Interview Questions

• Can you describe your experience as a Relationship Manager in the banking sector?
• What are the core responsibilities of a Relationship Manager?
• How do you identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities within your client portfolio?
• How do you ensure client documentation and KYC are up to date?
• Describe your approach to building long-term client trust and loyalty.
• Which CRM or portfolio management tools have you used, and how did they support your work?
• How do you prioritize tasks when managing multiple high-value clients?
• Why are strong communication skills important for a Relationship Manager?

Intermediate Relationship Manager Interview Questions

• Describe a time you turned around a disengaged client. What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?
• How do you balance delivering sales targets with managing client risk and credit limits?
• Explain a situation where you coordinated with credit or product teams to close a complex deal.
• How do you assess a client portfolio to identify consolidation or reallocation opportunities?
• Give an example of a time you resolved a compliance or documentation issue with a key client.
• How have you handled a major service failure or complaint and retained the client?
• What process do you follow to onboard a new corporate client and ensure a smooth handover?
• Describe how you build and maintain a sales pipeline for relationship growth.
• Tell us about a successful negotiation you led with a client regarding pricing or fees.
• How do you use data or analytics to improve client engagement and product penetration?

Advanced Relationship Manager Interview Questions

• How do you design an account strategy for a portfolio of mid to high net worth clients to maximize lifetime value?
• Explain your approach to portfolio segmentation and resource allocation across different client tiers.
• Describe how you evaluate credit risk and structure lending solutions for complex clients.
• How would you lead a cross-functional initiative to increase wallet share across commercial clients?
• Discuss a time you implemented process improvements to reduce onboarding time or improve compliance outcomes.
• How do you integrate digital channels and tools to enhance client experience and reduce operational friction?
• Explain how you set KPIs and performance metrics for a team of junior RMs to drive consistent results.
• What pricing or fee strategies do you use to remain competitive while protecting margin?
• How would you manage escalation for a strategic client facing legal or regulatory exposure?
• Describe your approach to succession planning and knowledge transfer for key client relationships.

Pre-Screening Video Interview Questions for Relationship Manager

These five pre-screening one-way video interview questions are tailored for efficient early-stage screening on ScreeningHive. They evaluate communication, judgment, commercial sense, compliance awareness, and prioritization.

1. Briefly introduce yourself and summarize your Relationship Manager experience in banking.

   This evaluates communication clarity, sector experience, and fit for the role.

2. Describe a time you retained a client who was considering leaving. What actions did you take?

   This question assesses problem-solving, client retention tactics, and the ability to protect revenue.

3. Explain how you identify a cross-sell opportunity and how you approach the client to discuss it.

   This looks at commercial instinct, sales process, and client-centric selling skills.

4. Describe how you ensure compliance with KYC and internal policies while maintaining good client relationships.

   This measures regulatory awareness, attention to detail, and balancing compliance with service.

5. How do you prioritize competing requests from several high-value clients at once?

   This evaluates time management, prioritization, and capacity to maintain service levels for key accounts.

Conclusion

This set of Relationship Manager interview questions helps hiring managers, recruiters, and HR teams screen candidates across basic, practical, and strategic competencies. Candidates can also use the questions to prepare targeted answers that demonstrate value.

ScreeningHive supports one-way video interviews to deliver faster screening and standardized evaluations. Use pre-screening video interview questions to reduce time to hire, ensure consistent assessment, and surface the best Relationship Manager candidates for in-depth interviews.